Text 7.35

(13) [This verse illustrates neyārtha (the meanings can only be guessed) in a sentence:]

वासः-प्रवाल-चरणैर् उन्निद्रा सखि वर्तते |
घन-प्रसव-जातानाम् अटवीति विभावय ||

vāsaḥ-pravāla-caraṇair unnidrā sakhi vartate |
ghana-prasava-jātānām aṭavīti vibhāvaya ||

vāsaḥ—of the garment; pravāla—of the coral jewel; caraṇaiḥ—by the feet; unnidrā—risen from sleep; sakhi—O confidante; vartate—is; ghana—of clouds; prasava—from the emanations; jātānām—of those which are born; aṭavī—the forest; iti—this; vibhāvaya—feel.

O sakhī, get this: The grove of things born from emanations of clouds is risen from sleep by the feet of the coral jewel of the garment.

atrāmbara-maṇeḥ sūryasya kiraṇaiḥ praphullaṃ jala-jānāṃ vipinaṃ śobhata iti neyārthaṃ vākyam.

The actual meaning in the above sentence can only be guessed: “The grove of lotuses which expands by the rays of the sun is resplendent.”

Commentary:

The sun is called ambara-maṇi (jewel of the sky), but in the verse a synonym of ambara (sky) in its double meaning of ‘garment’ is used (vāsaḥ), and a far-fetched synonym of maṇi (jewel) is used (pravāla), so that the conventional sense of ‘sun’ is lost. Similarly, the word pāda also means kiraṇa (ray), but here a synonym of pāda in its double meaning of ‘foot’ is used (caraṇa). In addition, the word unnidra has the sense of praphulla (blossoming), derived from the sense of awakening, but here it has the conventional sense of śobhate (it shines, i.e. it is resplendent), because the term unnidra comes from the idea of ‘moon’, which is awake (unnidra) while everything else is asleep, and because the moon shines. Moreover, aquatic lotuses originate from water, but here a far-fetched synonym of water is used: ghana-prasava (emanations of clouds). All these meanings have to be guessed (neyārtha).