गन्धर्वनगर

{ gandharvanagara }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

GANDHARVANAGARA   Vyāsa has compared munis disappearing from sight to the fading out of Gandharva nagara. “After having thus spoken to the Kurus, and while they were looking on, the band of sages disappeared in a trice like the fading out of Gandharvanagara.” [Ādi Parva, Chapter 126, Verses 35 and 36] . What is this Gandharvanagara? The following description occurs in Hindi Śabdasāgara. “Owing to different optical illusions (sight) of man, villages and cities may appear to exist in the sky and also on seas, rivers, etc. When during summer the air on the upper strata of deserts, seas etc. gets heated, expanded, and rises up, the light passing through it becomes multi-coloured and gives reflections in the sky in the form of village parts or cities. Also can be seen therein reflections of trees, boats etc. One such reflection may be cast on earth also. This is a mere optical illusion. This reflection immediately fades out also. This unreal city which is an optical illusion is Gandharvanagara.

A Sanskrit English Dictionary

गन्धर्व—नगर  n.  n. ‘ गन्धर्व-city’, an imaginary town in the sky, [MBh. ii, 1043]; [Hariv.]; [R. v &c.]

ROOTS:

गन्धर्व नगर

Fata Morgana, [Pāṇ. 4-1, 3]; [Kār.]; [VarBṛS. xxx]
xxxvi, 4; [BhP. v, 14, 5]; [Kād.]
the city of the गन्धर्व people, [R. vii.]