Devanagari
न शेके सोऽवितुं तत्र पुरुकृच्छ्रोरुवेपथु: ।
गन्तुमैच्छत्ततो वृक्षकोटरादिव सानलात् ॥ १४ ॥
Verse text
na śeke so ’vituṁ tatra
puru-kṛcchroru-vepathuḥ
gantum aicchat tato vṛkṣa-
koṭarād iva sānalāt
Synonyms
na
—
not
;
śeke
—
was able
;
saḥ
—
he
;
avitum
—
to protect
;
tatra
—
there
;
puru
—
very much
;
kṛcchra
—
difficulty
;
uru
—
great
;
vepathuḥ
—
suffering
;
gantum
—
to go out
;
aicchat
—
desired
;
tataḥ
—
from there
;
vṛkṣa
—
of a tree
;
koṭarāt
—
from the hollow
;
iva
—
like
;
sa
—
analāt — on fire .
Translation
As a serpent living within the cavity of a tree wishes to leave when there is a forest fire, so the city’s police superintendent, the snake, wished to leave the city due to the fire’s severe heat.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
He could not protect the city. Undergoing great difficulty and quivering to the extreme, he desired to leave the city, just as a snake desires to leave hollow tree which is on fire.
He could not protect the city. He desired to leave just as a snake desire to leave a tree hole which is on fire.
Purport
It becomes very difficult for snakes to leave a forest when there is a fire. Other animals may flee due to their long legs, but serpents, only being able to crawl, are generally burnt in the fire. At the last stage, the limbs of the body are not as much affected as the life air.