सर्वतोऽलङ्कृतं श्रीमद् विमानशिखरद्युभिः ॥५६॥
prÄkÄrair gopurÄgÄraiḥ
Å›Ätakumbha-paricchadaiḥ
sarvato 'laṅkṛtaṠśrīmad-
vimÄna-Å›ikhara-dyubhiḥ
prÄkÄraiḥ - with surrounding walls; gopura - city gates; ÄgÄraiḥ - with houses; Å›Ätakumbha - golden; paricchadaiḥ - with ornamental work; sarvataḥ - on all sides; alaá¹…ká¹›tam - decorated; Å›rÄ«mat - valuable, beautiful; vimÄna - airplanes; Å›ikhara - domes; dyubhiḥ - glittering.
In the capital city there were many palaces, city gates and surrounding walls, which were already very, very beautiful, and on this occasion all of them were decorated with golden ornaments. The domes of the city palaces glittered, as did the domes of the beautiful airplanes which hovered over the city.
Regarding the mention of airplanes here, it is suggested by ÅšrÄ«mad Vijayadhvaja TÄ«rtha that on this occasion the demigods from higher planetary systems also came in their airplanes to bestow their blessings on Dhruva MahÄrÄja on his arrival at the capital of his father. It also appears that all the domes of the city palaces as well as the pinnacles of the airplanes were decorated with ornamental work in gold, and, being reflected by the sunshine, they were all glittering. We can observe a specific distinction between Dhruva MahÄrÄja’s time and modern days, for the airplanes in those days were made of gold, whereas at the present moment airplanes are made of base aluminum. This just gives a hint of the opulence of Dhruva MahÄrÄja’s days and the poverty of modern times.
