लीलोवाच । तद्देवि भास्करादीनां क्वाऽधस्तेजो गतं वद । शिलाजठरनिष्पन्दं मुष्टिग्राह्यं तमः कुतः ॥ ४७ ॥
līlōvāca | taddēvi bhāskarādīnāṁ kvā’dhastējō gataṁ vada | śilājaṭharaniṣpandaṁ muṣṭigrāhyaṁ tamaḥ kutaḥ || 47 ||
Translation
Līlā said: Then tell me, goddess, where below has the light of the sun and the others gone? And where does this darkness come from, motionless as the inside of a rock, that could be grasped in a fist?
Word by word
- tad
- (tat) then
- dēvi
- goddess
- bhāskara
- of the sun
- ādīnāṁ
- and the others
- kva
- where
- adhas
- (adhaḥ) below
- tējō
- the light
- gataṁ
- has gone
- vada
- tell me
- śilā
- of a rock
- jaṭhara
- as the inside
- niṣpandaṁ
- motionless
- muṣṭi
- in a fist
- grāhyaṁ
- that could be grasped
- tamaḥ
- darkness
- kutaḥ
- where does it come from
Meaning
"Grasped in a fist": darkness so thick it feels like matter. Līlā's question is that of anyone who meets the unfamiliar: where has the familiar gone?