Devanagari
सत्यमर्ककरारक्तमुत्तराहनुवद् धनम् ।
अधराहनुवद्रोधस्तत्प्रतिच्छाययारुणम् ॥ २० ॥
Verse text
satyam arka-karāraktam
uttarā-hanuvad ghanam
adharā-hanuvad rodhas
tat-praticchāyayāruṇam
Synonyms
satyam
—
now the boys decided that it was in fact a living python
;
arka
—
kara — āraktam — appearing like the sunshine
;
uttarā
—
hanuvat ghanam — on the cloud resembling the upper lips
;
adharā
—
hanuvat — resembling the lower lips
;
rodhaḥ
—
big bank
;
tat
—
praticchāyayā — by the reflection of sunshine
;
aruṇam
—
reddish .
Translation
Thereafter they decided: Dear friends, this is certainly an animal sitting here to swallow us all. Its upper lip resembles a cloud reddened by the sunshine, and its lower lip resembles the reddish shadows of a cloud.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Thereafter they decided: Dear friends, this is certainly an animal sitting here to swallow us all. Its upper lip resembles a cloud reddened by the sunshine, and its lower lip resembles the reddish shadows of a cloud.
KB 10.12.20
One of them said, “Yes, what you say is true. This animal’s upper lip appears to be just like the sunshine, and its lower lip is just like the reflection of red sunshine on the ground.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
One boy agreed with them. "" The cloud reddened by the sun seems to be his upper lip, and its reflection reddening the ground seems to be his lower lip." Hanu here means lip or jaw rather than chin since there is no upper and lower chin.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The mountain slope made red by the reflection from the cloud is like its lower lip.
Some boys asked the question in the previous verse. Other boys answer in four verses, agreeing with them. You speak the truth (satyam). It is red with the sunlight. This indicates that the boys were going west, and the demon was facing east. Thus the morning light lit up the snake. Uttarā in the feminine instead of masculine is poetic license.