A thousand suns at once

divi sūryasahasrasya bhavedyugapadutthitāyadi bhāḥ sadṛśī sā syādbhāsastasya mahātmanaḥ

If a thousand suns rose in the sky at once, their light might match the splendour of that great being.

What it means

This is the most famous image in the chapter. Sanjaya has no picture big enough, so he multiplies the brightest thing he knows. One sun is too bright to look at. A thousand rising together comes close, and only close. The light is overwhelming. But it is still light.

The story

Sanjaya has described armies, chariots and conch shells to the blind king. Words came easily then. Now he stalls. He reaches for the sun, then a thousand suns. Even that, he admits, might only begin to match it.

In your life

You stand in a crowd during a total solar eclipse. The sky goes dark, then light flares around the edge of the moon. Strangers gasp and cry. Next time something stuns you, let yourself go silent.