ससंग्रामोऽम्बरग्राम इवाऽऽश्चर्यकरो नृणाम् । अभूत् प्रलयभूकम्पकम्पिताचलचञ्चलः ॥ १४ ॥
sasaṁgrāmō’mbaragrāma ivā’’ścaryakarō nṛṇām | abhūt pralayabhūkampakampitācalacañcalaḥ || 14 ||
Translation
That battle became, for men, a wonder like a city in the sky, unsteady as mountains shaken by the earthquake of the dissolution.
Word by word
- sa
- that
- saṁgrāmō
- (saṃgrāmaḥ) battle
- ambara
- in the sky
- grāma
- a city
- iva
- like
- āścarya
- a wonder
- karō
- (karaḥ) making
- nṛṇām
- for men
- abhūt
- became
- pralaya
- of the dissolution
- bhūkampa
- by the earthquake
- kampita
- shaken
- acala
- as mountains
- cañcalaḥ
- unsteady
Meaning
A new image: a city in the sky, a gandharva-city, the mirage of towers seen in clouds. Both commentaries: a wondrous city. It is the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha's favourite figure for the world: vivid, astonishing, and without substance. Placed here, in the middle of the battle, it reminds the reader what this battle is.