धनुर्वियति माहेन्द्रं निर्गुणं च गुणिन्यभात् । व्यक्ते गुणव्यतिकरेऽगुणवान् पुरुषो यथा ॥ १८ ॥
dhanur viyati māhendraṁ nirguṇaṁ ca guṇiny abhāt vyakte guṇa-vyatikare ’guṇavān puruṣo yathā
- dhanuḥ
- the bow (rainbow)
- viyati
- within the sky
- māhā-indram
- of Lord Indra
- nirguṇam
- without qualities (or without a bowstring)
- ca
- although
- guṇini
- within the sky, which has definite qualities like sound
- abhāt
- appeared
- vyakte
- within the manifest material nature
- guṇa-vyatikare
- which consists of the interactions of material qualities
- aguṇa-vān
- He who has no contact with material qualities
- puruṣaḥ
- the Supreme Personality
- yathā
- just as
When the curved bow of Indra [the rainbow] appeared in the sky, which had the quality of thundering sound, it was unlike ordinary bows because it did not rest upon a string. Similarly, when the Supreme Lord appears in this world, which is the interaction of the material qualities, He is unlike ordinary persons because He remains free from all material qualities and independent of all material conditions.