Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.11.25
अलक्षयन्तस्तमतीव विह्वला
विचुक्रुशुर्देवगणा: सहानुगा: ।
अनायका: शत्रुबलेन निर्जिता
वणिक्पथा भिन्ननवो यथार्णवे ॥ २५ ॥
alakṣayantas tam atīva vihvalā
[alakshayantas tam ateeva vihvalaa]
vicukruśur deva-gaṇāḥ sahānugāḥ
[vichukrushur deva-ganaah sahaanugaah]
anāyakāḥ śatru-balena nirjitā
[anaayakaah shatru-balena nirjitaa]
vaṇik-pathā bhinna-navo yathārṇave
[vanik-pathaa bhinna-navo yathaarnave]
Word-for-word
alakṣayantaḥ
—
being unable to see
tam
—
King Indra
atīva
—
fiercely
vihvalāḥ
—
bewildered
vicukruśuḥ
—
began to lament
deva-gaṇāḥ
—
all the demigods
saha-anugāḥ
—
with their followers
anāyakāḥ
—
without any captain or leader
śatru-balena
—
by the superior power of their enemies
nirjitāḥ
—
oppressed severely
vaṇik-pathāḥ
—
traders
bhinna-navaḥ
—
whose ship is wrecked
yathā arṇave
—
as in the middle of the ocean.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
alakṣayantas tam atīva vihvalā
alakṣayantaḥ
being unable to see
tam
King Indra
atīva
fiercely
vihvalāḥ
bewildered
vicukruśur deva-gaṇāḥ sahānugāḥ
vicukruśuḥ
began to lament
deva-gaṇāḥ
all the demigods
saha-anugāḥ
with their followers
anāyakāḥ
without any captain or leader
anāyakāḥ śatru-balena nirjitā
śatru-balena
by the superior power of their enemies
nirjitāḥ
oppressed severely
vaṇik-pathā bhinna-navo yathārṇave
vaṇik-pathāḥ
traders
bhinna-navaḥ
whose ship is wrecked
yathā arṇave
as in the middle of the ocean.
The demigods, being severely oppressed by their enemies and being unable to see Indra on the battlefield, were very anxious. Having no captain or leader, they began lamenting like traders in a wrecked vessel in the midst of the ocean.
Purport
From this statement it appears that in the upper planetary system there is shipping and that traders there engage in navigation as their occupational duty. Sometimes, as on this planet, these traders are shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean. It appears that even in the upper planetary system, such calamities occasionally take place. The upper planetary system in the creation of the Lord is certainly not vacant or devoid of living entities. From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we understand that every planet is full of living entities, just as earth is. There is no reason to accept that on other planetary systems there are no living beings.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
The devatās and their followers, not seeing Indra, became disturbed. Without their leader they were defeated by the strength of the enemy like merchants in broken ship at sea.
Vanik-pathā means merchants. Bhinna-navaḥ means a broken ship.
Personal Guidance
With Indra invisible, the demigods felt like traders in a shipwreck — anxious, leaderless. Even upper planetary beings know the panic of lost leadership. Faith in a leader who is temporarily out of sight is one of the hardest tests.
Reflection Questions
- Whose leadership do I trust only when I can see them?
- What 'shipwreck panic' in me reveals an over-dependence on visible authority?
My note
Source: vedabase.io