श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । अथ वीरवरोत्कण्ठनृत्यदप्सरसि स्थिता । लीलाऽवलोकयामास व्योम्नि विद्यान्विताऽवनौ ॥ १ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | atha vīravarōtkaṇṭhanṛtyadapsarasi sthitā | līlā’valōkayāmāsa vyōmni vidyānvitā’vanau || 1 ||
Translation
Vasiṣṭha said: Then Līlā, standing in the sky where apsarases danced in longing for the finest heroes, looked down, with the goddess of wisdom, upon the earth.
Word by word
- atha
- then
- vīra
- for heroes
- vara
- the finest
- utkaṇṭha
- in longing
- nṛtyad
- (nṛtyat) danced
- apsarasi
- where apsarases
- sthitā
- standing
- līlā
- Līlā
- avalōkayāmāsa
- looked down
- vyōmni
- in the sky
- vidyā
- with the goddess of wisdom
- anvitā
- accompanied
- avanau
- upon the earth
Meaning
The sky of the last sarga is where Līlā now stands, among the apsarases dancing in their eagerness for heroes. "With the goddess of wisdom" (vidyānvitā): Sarasvatī, who is Vidyā, knowledge itself, stays at her side. What Līlā sees, she sees in the company of wisdom; that is why she will not be swept away by it. The verb "looked upon" governs the whole sarga: everything that follows, to v. 28, is what she saw.