SAUNDARANANDA 1.60: Stars & Moon

tan naatha-vRttair api raaja-putrair
a-raajakaM n' aiva raraaja raaShTraM
taaraa-sahasrair api diipyamaanair
an-utthite candra iv' aantariikShaM

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1.60
Under those king's sons,
active though they were as protectors,

That kingless kingdom lacked kingly lustre --

Like the sky, though stars are shining in their thousands,

Before the moon has risen.

COMMENT:
Can one moon outshine a thousand stars? For a human being on planet earth, the answer is self-evidently yes -- our little satellite, because of its closeness to us, outshines any number of much bigger stars.

Ashvaghosha's Dharma-grandson Nagarjuna concluded his Muula-madhyama-kakaarikaa, Fundamental Verses from the Middle, as follows:

sarva-dRShTi-prahaaNaaya
yaH saddharmam adeshayat
anukampaam upaadaaya
taM namasyaami gautamaM

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Towards the dropping of all views
He taught the true Dharma,
Utilizing compassion.
I bow to him, Gautama.

One senses that for Indian ancestors like Ashvaghosha and Nagarjuna, the Buddha's enlightenment was something, like the moon, very close to home.


EH Johnston:
That country, being without a king, was devoid of lustre under those king's sons, though they behaved as lords, just as the sky, when the moon has not risen, is not made bright by the stars, though they be shining by the thousand.

Linda Covill:
But though they conducted themselves royally, the country could not reach full brilliance without a king, just as the night sky cannot reach full brilliance when the moon has not yet risen, though a thousand stars twinkle.

VOCABULARY:
tad: that
naatha-vRttaiH (inst. pl.): with the behaviour of protectors
naatha: m. a protector , patron , possessor , owner , lord (often ifc. , esp. in names of gods and men ; but also mfn. possessed of occupied by , furnished with)
vRtta: mfn. turned , set in motion (as a wheel) ; become ; n. (also pl.) procedure , practice , action , mode of life , conduct , behaviour (esp. virtuous conduct , good behaviour)
api: though
raaja-putraiH (inst. pl.): m. a king's son , prince

araajakam = acc. sg. mn. / nom. sg. n. arajaka: mfn. having no king
na: not
eva: (emphatic)
raraaja = 3rd pers. sg. perfect √ raaj: to reign , be king or chief , rule over (gen.) , direct , govern (acc.) ; to be illustrious or resplendent , shine , glitter
raaShTram (nom. sg.): mn. (fr. √ raaj) a kingdom , realm , empire , dominion , district , country ; a people , nation , subjects

taaraa-sahasraiH (inst. pl.): with a thousand stars
taaraa: f. a fixed star , asterism
sahasra: n. a thousand ; any very large number
api: though
diipyamaanaiH = inst. pl. pres. part. diip: to blaze , flare , shine , be luminous or illustrious

an-utthite = loc. sg. an-utthita: mfn. not risen
candraH (nom. sg.): m. the moon
iva: like
antariikSham (nom. sg.) : n. the intermediate space between heaven and earth ; the sky