खं भूत्वा पवनस्कन्धं धत्ते सर्षिसुरासुरम् । कुलाचलगतो भूत्वा लोकपालपुरास्पदः ॥ १७ ॥
khaṁ bhūtvā pavanaskandhaṁ dhattē sarṣisurāsuram | kulācalagatō bhūtvā lōkapālapurāspadaḥ || 17 ||
Translation
Becoming space, he bears the bands of wind, with the seers, the gods and the demons; becoming the mountains that hold the earth, he is the seat of the cities of the world-guardians.
Word by word
- khaṁ
- space
- bhūtvā
- becoming
- pavana
- of wind
- skandhaṁ
- the bands
- dhattē
- he bears
- sarṣi
- with the seers
- sura
- the gods
- asuram
- and the demons
- kulācala
- the mountains that hold the earth
- gatō
- gone to (become)
- lōkapāla
- of the world-guardians
- pura
- of the cities
- āspadaḥ
- the seat
Meaning
Space holds the "shoulders of the wind" (pavana-skandha), which the commentary explains as the layers of wind, forty-nine in the old cosmology, one above another, and with them all the beings of the sky. The kulācalas are the great ranges that hold the earth in place; the commentary names Sumeru and the Himālaya, on which Indra and the other guardians of the quarters have their seats.