Devanagari
ते उपेत्य महारात्रे तमसि प्रत्युपस्थिते ।
उर्वश्या उरणौ जह्रुर्न्यस्तौ राजनि जायया ॥ २७ ॥
Verse text
te upetya mahā-rātre
tamasi pratyupasthite
urvaśyā uraṇau jahrur
nyastau rājani jāyayā
Synonyms
te
—
they, the Gandharvas
;
upetya
—
coming there
;
mahā
—
rātre — in the dead of night
;
tamasi
—
when the darkness
;
pratyupasthite
—
appeared
;
urvaśyā
—
by Urvaśī
;
uraṇau
—
two lambs
;
jahruḥ
—
stole
;
nyastau
—
given in charge
;
rājani
—
unto the King
;
jāyayā
—
by his wife, Urvaśī .
Translation
Thus the Gandharvas came to earth, and at midnight, when everything was dark, they appeared in the house of Purūravā and stole the two lambs entrusted to the King by his wife, Urvaśī.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Thus the Gandharvas came to earth, and in the darkness of midnight they appeared in the house of Purūravā and stole the two lambs entrusted to the King by his wife, Urvaśī.
Mahāṛātre means “at midnight.” According smṛti, midnight means the ghaṭikas in the middle of the two yāmas of the night.
Purport
“The dead of night” refers to midnight. The
mahā-niśā
is described in this
smṛti-mantra:
mahā-niśā dve ghaṭike rātrer madhyama-yāmayoḥ,
“Twelve o’clock midnight is called the dead of night.”