920
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 3, Ch. 23]
stones. The stones have been taken away by the authorities, but the decorations are still present in some of the castles constructed by the Mogul emperors in New Delhi. The royal palaces were built with jewels and rare stones like eyes, and thus at night they would give off reflective light without need of lamps.
TEXT 20
हंसपारावतवातैस्तत्र तत्र निकूजितम् । कृत्रिमान् मन्यमानैः स्वानधिरुद्धाधिरुद्ध च ॥२०॥
haṁsa-pārāvata-vrātais tatra tatra nikūjitam kṛtrimān manyamānaiḥ svān adhiruhyādhiruhya ca
haṁsa—of swans; pārāvata—of pigeons; vrātaiḥ—with multitudes; tatra tatra—here and there; nikūjitam—vibrated; kṛtrimān—artificial; manyamānaiḥ—thinking; svān—belonging to their own kind; adhiruhya adhiruhya—rising up repeatedly; ca—and.
TRANSLATION
Here and there in that palace were multitudes of live swans and pigeons, as well as artificial swans and pigeons so lifelike that the real swans rose above them again and again, thinking them live birds like themselves. Thus the palace vibrated with the sounds of these birds.
TEXT 21
विहारस्थानविभ्रामसंवेशप्राङ्गणाजिरैः । यथोपजोषं रचितैर्विस्मापनमिवात्मनः ॥२१॥
vihāra-sthāna-viśrāma- saṁveśa-prāṅgaṇājiraiḥ yathopajoṣaṁ racitair vismāpanam ivātmanaḥ
vihāra-sthāna—pleasure grounds; viśrāma—resting chambers; saṁveśa—bedrooms; prāṅgaṇa—inner yards; ajiraiḥ—with outer yards; yathā-upajoṣaṁ