स्वराष्ट्रमण्डले भर्तृपालिते बलमालिते । कस्मिंश्चिद्विततारण्ये द्वितीयाकाशभीषणे ॥ २ ॥
svarāṣṭramaṇḍalē bhartṛpālitē balamālitē | kasmiṁścidvitatāraṇyē dvitīyākāśabhīṣaṇē || 2 ||
Translation
In her own kingdom, guarded by her husband and garlanded with troops, in a certain wide forest, fearful as a second sky,
Word by word
- sva
- her own
- rāṣṭra
- kingdom
- maṇḍalē
- in the realm
- bhartṛ
- by her husband
- pālitē
- guarded
- bala
- with troops
- mālitē
- garlanded
- kasmiṁścid
- (kasmiṃścit) in a certain
- vitata
- wide
- araṇyē
- forest
- dvitīya
- a second
- ākāśa
- sky
- bhīṣaṇē
- fearful as
Meaning
The kingdom is "her own" because this is the world of Vidūratha, her husband Padma reborn; the kingdom he rules here is the copy his mind has made of the one they shared. The forest is "a second sky", and fearful: another commentary explains the pun. The sky holds the Lion and the Scorpion and other fearful signs among its stars; the forest holds real lions and scorpions, rākṣasas and piśācas.