Shloka 216
Adhyāya 223: Nāradasya Guṇa-kathana
Catalogue of Nārada’s Virtues
ननृतुस्तत्र गन्धर्वा: घट सहस्राणि सप्तधा | एक समय था
nanṛtus tatra gandharvāḥ ghaṭa-sahasrāṇi saptadhā |
Śakra dit : «Là, les Gandharva dansaient — par milliers — répartis en sept groupes. Il fut un temps où un vaste parasol d’or, serti de joyaux, était tenu déployé au-dessus de toi, tandis que six mille Gandharva, chantant selon les sept notes, déployaient devant toi leur art de la danse.»
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse evokes former royal/celestial honors—canopy, music, and dance—to underline the fragility of worldly glory. Such splendor is contingent on karma and time; ethical steadiness and humility are implied as more reliable than status and display.
Śakra (Indra) recalls a past scene of magnificence: Gandharvas in vast numbers perform music and dance before the addressed person, with a jeweled golden parasol held overhead—an image of high sovereignty and honor being described or contrasted with a changed present.