मेघदूतम् · कालिदास · 1.15
पथि · Indra's bow out of the anthill
रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकर इव प्रेक्ष्यमेतत् पुरस्ताद्
वल्मीकाग्रात् प्रभवति धनुःखण्डमाखण्डलस्य
येन श्यामं वपुरतितरां कान्तिमापत्स्यते ते
बर्हेणेव स्फुरितरुचिना गोपवेषस्य विष्णोः
pāda a
pāda b
pāda c
pāda d
रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः + इव → रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकर
ः + इ
no rule named — the builder's table does not hold this change
प्रेक्ष्यम् + एतत् → प्रेक्ष्यमेतत्
म् + ए
no rule named — the builder's table does not hold this change
पुरस्तात् + वल्मीकाग्रात् → पुरस्ताद्
त् + व्
धनुःखण्डम् + आखण्डलस्य → धनुःखण्डमाखण्डलस्य
म् + आ
no rule named — the builder's table does not hold this change
श्यामम् + वपुः → श्यामं
म् + व्
वपुः + अतितराम् → वपुरतितरां
ः + अ
no rule named — the builder's table does not hold this change
कान्तिम् + आपत्स्यते → कान्तिमापत्स्यते
म् + आ
no rule named — the builder's table does not hold this change
बर्हेण + इव → बर्हेणेव
अ + इ → ए
रत्न + छाया → रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः
अ + छ्
छाया + व्यतिकर → रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः
आ + व्
no rule named — the builder's table does not hold this change
वल्मीक + अग्र → वल्मीकाग्रात्
अ + अ → आ · falls inside the syllable का
धनुस् + खण्ड → धनुःखण्डम्
स् + ख्
स्फुरित + रुचि → स्फुरितरुचिना
अ + र्
no rule named — the builder's table does not hold this change
गोप + वेष → गोपवेषस्य
अ + व्
no rule named — the builder's table does not hold this change
प्रेक्ष्यमेतत् is प्रेक्ष्यम् + एतत्, the final म् before the vowel of एतत् becoming a nasal glide and written म्. धनुःखण्डमाखण्डलस्य is धनुःखण्डम् + आखण्डलस्य, म् + आ again keeping the म्. वपुरतितरां is वपुः + अतितराम्, the विसर्ग of a word whose s follows a vowel other than अ आ turning to र् before the vowel — so वपुः becomes वपुर्. बर्हेणेव is बर्हेण + इव, the final अ and the इ coalescing into ए (गुण). कान्तिमापत्स्यते is कान्तिम् + आपत्स्यते, the म् kept before आ.
रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः प्रथमा · nominative — कर्ता, the agent
प्रेक्ष्यम् प्रथमा · nominative — कर्ता, the agent
एतत् प्रथमा · nominative — कर्ता, the agent
वल्मीकाग्रात् पञ्चमी · ablative — अपादान, the point of departure
धनुःखण्डम् प्रथमा · nominative — कर्ता, the agent
आखण्डलस्य षष्ठी · genitive — सम्बन्ध, a relation to another word
येन तृतीया · instrumental — करण, the instrument or cause
श्यामम् प्रथमा · nominative — कर्ता, the agent
वपुः प्रथमा · nominative — कर्ता, the agent
कान्तिम् द्वितीया · accusative — कर्म, the object
ते षष्ठी · genitive — सम्बन्ध, a relation to another word
बर्हेण तृतीया · instrumental — करण, the instrument or cause
with स्फुरितरुचिना
विष्णोः षष्ठी · genitive — सम्बन्ध, a relation to another word
with गोपवेषस्य
प्रकरण 1 · हलन्त्यम्
प्रकरण 2 · इको यणचि
प्रकरण 3 · स्तोः श्चुना श्चुः
प्रकरण 4 · वा शरि
प्रकरण 5 · अर्थवदधातुरप्रत्ययः प्रातिपदिकम्
प्रकरण 7 · अतोऽम्
प्रकरण 8 · हो ढः
प्रकरण 11 · स्वरादिनिपातमव्ययम्
प्रकरण 12 · लः कर्मणि च भावे चाकर्मकेभ्यः
प्रकरण 33 · धातोः
प्रकरण 48 · शेषे
not in the abridgement
रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः
रत्न · छाया · व्यतिकर
रत्नानां छायाः
तत्पुरुष (genitive) — the lights of jewels — Mallinātha names them, the glow of a ruby and the rest
रत्नच्छायानां व्यतिकरः
तत्पुरुष (genitive) — the running together of those lights
तत्पुरुष. jewel-lights mixed into one another — Mallinātha glosses व्यतिकर as मिश्रण, a mingling, which is what a rainbow looks like
uncheckedMallinātha, Sañjīvinī“ratnacchāyānāṃ padmarāgādimaṇiprabhāṇāṃ vyatikaro miśraṇamiva”
वल्मीकाग्रात्
वल्मीक · अग्र
वल्मीकस्य अग्रम्
तत्पुरुष (genitive) — the top of the anthill
तत्पुरुष. out of the mouth of an anthill — Mallinātha glosses वामलूरविवरात्, the hole in it, and cites Amara for वल्मीक being either gender
uncheckedMallinātha, Sañjīvinī“valmīkāgrādvāmalūravivarāt || “vāmalūraśca nākuśca valmīkaṃ punnapuṃsakam” ityamaraḥ”
धनुःखण्डम्
धनुस् · खण्ड
धनुषः खण्डम्
तत्पुरुष (genitive) — a piece of a bow
तत्पुरुष. a length of bow — a rainbow is a piece rather than a whole one, which is what the word is doing here
uncheckedMallinātha, Sañjīvinī“ākhaṇḍalasyendrasyaitaddhanuḥkhaṇḍam”
स्फुरितरुचिना
स्फुरित · रुचि
स्फुरिता रुचिः यस्य तेन
बहुव्रीहि — by the one whose sheen flashes
बहुव्रीहि — it refers to बर्हेण. the feather whose colour keeps catching the light — Mallinātha glosses उज्ज्वलकान्तिना
uncheckedMallinātha, Sañjīvinī“sphuritarucinojvala kāntinā barheṇa picchena”
गोपवेषस्य
गोप · वेष
गोपस्य वेषः
तत्पुरुष (genitive) — a cowherd's dress
गोपवेषः यस्य सः
बहुव्रीहि — the one who is wearing it
बहुव्रीहि — it refers to विष्णोः. Viṣṇu dressed as a cowherd — Mallinātha names him, गोपाल, Kṛṣṇa, and it is the dark body and the one feather the verse wants
uncheckedMallinātha, Sañjīvinī“gopaveṣasya viṣṇorgopālasya kṛṣṇasya śyāmaṃ vapuriva”
a-stem masculine, प्रथमा एकवचन nominative singular
रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः
printed रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकर
व्यतिकर
a mingling — the thing the rainbow is being compared to, so it stands in the nominative beside इव
अव्यय
इव
इव
like — the first of the verse's two comparisons
√ईक्ष् + ण्यत्, प्रथमा एकवचन nominative singular
प्रेक्ष्यम्
printed प्रेक्ष्यमेतत्
प्रेक्ष्य, from प्र + √ईक्ष्
worth looking at — a kṛtya, "to be gazed at". Mallinātha glosses दर्शनीयम्
प्रेक्ष्यम्, “worth looking at”, is a kṛtya — a form that says a thing is to be, or ought to be, done to. It is प्र + √ईक्ष्, “to look at”, with the suffix ण्यत्, so “to be gazed at”; Mallinātha glosses दर्शनीयम्. It is the third kṛtya the reading has met: वन्द्यैः, “to be bowed to”, at 1.12 and पेय, “to be drunk”, at 1.13 were both कृत्यs too. The suffix here is ण्यत्, one of the three the class uses; 1.18 will show a fourth of the same idea built with अनीयर्.
pronoun, प्रथमा एकवचन nominative singular
एतत्
printed प्रेक्ष्यमेतत्
एतद्
this one here — Mallinātha says the word is a pointing finger: the yakṣa is showing him the thing as it appears
अव्यय
पुरस्तात्
printed पुरस्ताद्
पुरस्तात्
in front — Mallinātha glosses अग्रे
a-stem neuter, पञ्चमी एकवचन ablative singular
वल्मीकाग्रात्
अग्र
from the top — and the compound says of what: of an anthill
√भू, class 1, लट्, parasmaipada, third person singular
प्रभवति
√भू with प्र
comes forth — Mallinātha glosses आविर्भवति, appears out of nothing, which is what a rainbow does
a-stem neuter, प्रथमा एकवचन nominative singular
धनुःखण्डम्
printed धनुःखण्डमाखण्डलस्य
खण्ड
a piece — and the compound says of what: of a bow. This is the verse's subject
a-stem masculine, षष्ठी एकवचन genitive singular
आखण्डलस्य
printed धनुःखण्डमाखण्डलस्य
आखण्डल
of Indra — Mallinātha glosses इन्द्रस्य. The name is "the breaker", and the bow is what a breaker would carry
pronoun, तृतीया एकवचन instrumental singular
येन
यद्
by which — Mallinātha supplies the noun: by that piece of bow
a-stem neuter, प्रथमा एकवचन nominative singular
श्यामम्
printed श्यामं
श्याम
dark — the rain-cloud's colour, and Kṛṣṇa's
us-stem neuter, प्रथमा एकवचन nominative singular
वपुः
printed वपुरतितरां
वपुस्
body, form — a us-stem, its s showing as visarga at the end of the word
वपुः, “body, form”, is an us-stem neuter — a noun whose stem ends in स्, वपुस्, and whose final स् shows as a विसर्ग at the end of a word (वपुः) and as र् before a voiced sound (वपुर् अतितराम्). It declines like a consonant-stem, not like the a-stems that fill most of the verse. Mallinātha reads the word as the cloud's own dark body, which the rainbow will set off the way one peacock feather sets off Kṛṣṇa's.
अव्यय
अतितराम्
printed वपुरतितरां
अतितराम्
exceedingly — the comparative built into an indeclinable, and it is what makes the verse a promise rather than a description
i-stem feminine, द्वितीया एकवचन accusative singular
कान्तिम्
printed कान्तिमापत्स्यते
कान्ति
loveliness — Mallinātha glosses शोभाम्
√पद्, class 4, लृट्, atmanepada, third person singular
आपत्स्यते
printed कान्तिमापत्स्यते
√पद् with आ
will come to — Mallinātha glosses प्राप्स्यते. The future, because none of this has happened yet
आपत्स्यते, “will come to”, is the future (लृट्) of आ + √पद्, a fourth-class root (दिवादि) that takes आत्मनेपद endings — the “middle” voice, whose third-singular future is -स्यते rather than the -स्यति of a parasmaipada verb like प्रभवति in this same verse. Mallinātha glosses प्राप्स्यते. The whole stanza is a promise, not a description, and both its verbs that look ahead — आपत्स्यते here and every future of the journey — stand in लृट् for that reason.
pronoun, षष्ठी एकवचन genitive singular
ते
युष्मद्
your — Mallinātha glosses तव
a-stem neuter, तृतीया एकवचन instrumental singular
बर्हेण
printed बर्हेणेव
बर्ह
by a peacock's tail-feather — Mallinātha glosses पिच्छेन and cites Amara for both words being neuter
The verse turns on two similes, both marked by इव: the rainbow is “like a mingling of jewel-lights” (रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः इव), and the cloud lit by it is “like Viṣṇu in his cowherd's dress” set off by one feather (बर्हेण इव). बर्ह, “tail-feather”, Mallinātha reads as neuter, citing Amara — पिच्छबर्हे नपुंसके — against the masculine the corpus tags; a lexicon settles the gender where the ending alone will not. The instrumental बर्हेण is the thing the dark body is beautified by.
अव्यय
इव
printed बर्हेणेव
इव
as — the second comparison, and the one the verse is built to arrive at
i-stem neuter, तृतीया एकवचन instrumental singular
स्फुरितरुचिना
रुचि
sheen — but the compound is a bahuvrīhi and means the feather, not the sheen. रुचि is feminine as a noun and neuter here, taking the gender of the बर्हेण it describes
a-stem masculine, षष्ठी एकवचन genitive singular
गोपवेषस्य
वेष
dress — and the compound is a bahuvrīhi, so it means the one wearing it
u-stem masculine, षष्ठी एकवचन genitive singular
विष्णोः
विष्णु
of Viṣṇu — Mallinātha names the form he is in: Kṛṣṇa the cowherd, with the feather in his hair
आखण्डलस्य · एतत् · धनुःखण्डम् · रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः · इव · प्रेक्ष्यम् · पुरस्तात् · वल्मीकाग्रात् · प्रभवति · येन · ते · श्यामम् · वपुः · स्फुरितरुचिना · बर्हेण · गोपवेषस्य · विष्णोः · इव · अतितराम् · कान्तिम् · आपत्स्यते
uncheckedMallinātha, Sañjīvinī, whose commentary is written as anvaya“ihānvayamukhenaiva sarvaṃ vyākhyāyate mayā”
the dependency structure
प्रभवति · क्रिया — comes forth; Mallinātha glosses आविर्भवति, appears out of nothing, which is what a rainbow does
धनुःखण्डम् · कर्ता — a length of bow, the thing that comes forth
एतत् · this one here — a pointing finger, Mallinātha says
आखण्डलस्य · of Indra — genitive with the bow
प्रेक्ष्यम् · worth looking at — a kṛtya agreeing with the bow-piece
रत्नच्छायाव्यतिकरः · उपमान — like a mingling of jewel-lights
इव · like — the first comparison
पुरस्तात् · क्रियाविशेषण — in front, Mallinātha's अग्रे
वल्मीकाग्रात् · अपादान — from the top of an anthill, the source it rises from
आपत्स्यते · the second sentence, hung beneath: will come to
येन · करण — by which [bow-piece], the instrumental relative
वपुः · कर्ता — your body, the thing that will grow lovelier
ते · your — genitive with the body
श्यामम् · dark — agreeing with the body
कान्तिम् · कर्म — a loveliness, Mallinātha's शोभाम्
अतितराम् · क्रियाविशेषण — exceedingly, greater still
बर्हेण · उपमान — as by a peacock's tail-feather
स्फुरितरुचिना · whose sheen keeps flashing — agreeing with the feather
इव · as — the second comparison, the one the verse arrives at
गोपवेषस्य · of the one in a cowherd's dress — whose dark body the feather sets off
विष्णोः · of Viṣṇu — Kṛṣṇa the cowherd, genitive with the dress
uncheckedMallinātha’s Sañjīvinī for the anvaya and the reading; the Telugu drawn from Vedam Venkataraya Sastri’s Āndhra Meghasandeśam and the Bālānandinī
There in front of you, rising out of the top of an anthill, is this piece of Indra's bow, worth looking at as a mingling of jewel-lights is — and by it your dark body will come to a beauty greater still, the way the dark body of Viṣṇu in his cowherd's dress does by one flashing peacock feather.
uncheckedthe reader's reading, following Mallinātha's gloss
There in front of you, rising out of the top of an anthill, is this length of Indra's bow, worth looking at as a mingling of jewel-lights is; and by it your dark body will come to a loveliness greater still, the way the dark body of Viṣṇu in his cowherd's dress does by one flashing peacock feather.
No figure is named for this verse by the commentary this reading follows, so none is shown.