FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.10.24

न तेऽद‍ृश्यन्त सञ्छन्ना: शरजालै: समन्तत: । पुङ्खानुपुङ्खपतितैर्ज्योतींषीव नभोघनै: ॥ २४ ॥
na te ’dṛśyanta sañchannāḥ
[na te ’drishyanta sanchannaah]
śara-jālaiḥ samantataḥ
[shara-jaalaih samantatah]
puṅkhānupuṅkha-patitair
[punkhaanupunkha-patitair]
jyotīṁṣīva nabho-ghanaiḥ
[jyoteemsheeva nabho-ghanaih]
na — not te — they (the demigods) adṛśyanta — were seen sañchannāḥ — being completely covered śara-jālaiḥ — by networks of arrows samantataḥ — all around puṅkha-anupuṅkha — one arrow after another patitaiḥ — falling jyotīṁṣi iva — like the stars in the sky nabhaḥ-ghanaiḥ — by the dense clouds.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na te ’dṛśyanta sañchannāḥ
na
not
te
they (the demigods)
adṛśyanta
were seen
sañchannāḥ
being completely covered
śara-jālaiḥ samantataḥ
śara-jālaiḥ
by networks of arrows
samantataḥ
all around
puṅkhānupuṅkha-patitair
puṅkha-anupuṅkha
one arrow after another
patitaiḥ
falling
jyotīṁṣīva nabho-ghanaiḥ
jyotīṁṣi iva
like the stars in the sky
nabhaḥ-ghanaiḥ
by the dense clouds.
As the stars in the sky cannot be seen when covered by dense clouds, the demigods, being completely covered by networks of arrows falling upon them one after another, could not be seen.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
As the stars cannot be seen when covered by dense clouds, the devatās, being completely covered by networks of arrows falling upon them one after another, could not be seen. Puṅkha is the feathered end of the arrow. The arrows fell so that one arrow head followed exactly next to the feathered end of the previous arrow. Though the arrows covered the devatās like clouds covering the stars, the arrows could not touch the devatās, just as the clouds do not touch the stars.
As stars are hidden by dense clouds, the demigods were obscured by waves of falling arrows. Sometimes our spiritual light is not extinguished but only momentarily occluded.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I treat occlusion as extinction?
  • What practice helps me trust the unseen light during a cloud?
📝 My note

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