Text 19
rathera sājani dekhi’ loke camatkāra
nava hemamaya ratha — sumeru-ākāra
rathera — of the car; sājani — decoration; dekhi’ — by seeing; loke — everyone; camatkāra — astonished; nava — new; hema-maya — golden; ratha — car; sumeru-ākāra — as high as the mountain Sumeru.
Everyone was astonished to see the decorations on the Ratha car. The car appeared to be newly made of gold, and it was as high as Mount Sumeru.
In the year 1973 there was a gorgeous Ratha-yātrā festival in London, England, and the car was brought to Trafalgar Square. The London daily newspaper The Guardian published a front-page photo caption: “ISKCON Ratha-yātrā is rival to the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square.” The Nelson Column is a very impressive statue of Lord Nelson and can be seen from a good distance. Just as the residents of Purī compared the Ratha-yātrā car to Mount Sumeru, the residents of London considered the car rival to the Nelson Monument.