Encyclopaedia of Sanskrit subhāṣitas 251

251

aṅkaṃ ke'pi śaśaṅkirejalanidheḥ paṅkaṃ pare menire sāraṅgaṃ katicicca saṃjagadire bhūmeśca bimbaṃ pare /
indau yaddalitendranīlaśakalaśyāmaṃ darīdṛśyate tanmanye ravibhītamandhatamasaṃ kukṣisthamālakṣyate //

Some suspected a spot [on the moon]; others deemed it mud from the ocean; / some declared it to be an antelope, and others the reflection of the earth; / that which appears dark like a chipped piece of sapphire upon the moon— / I deem that the blind darkness, terrified of the sun, is seen resting in its belly.