Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 6

Kāla-cakra and the Motions of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Grahas

Bhāgavata Jyotiṣa Framework

Devanagari script

अथ च यावतार्धेन नभोवीथ्यां प्रचरति तं कालमयनमाचक्षते ॥ ६ ॥

Transliteration

atha ca yāvatārdhena nabho-vīthyāṁ pracarati taṁ kālam ayanam ācakṣate.

Translation

Thus the time the sun takes to rotate through half of outer space is called an ayana, or its period of movement [in the north or in the south].

Synonyms

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha-bodhaka
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Discourse particle

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• yāvatā: by the extent that
• yāvatā: Karaṇa (करण/measure)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; measure-relative 'by as much as'

• ardhena: by half
• ardhena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ardha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṁsaka, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana

• nabhaḥ-vīthyām: in the celestial path
• nabhaḥ-vīthyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas (प्रातिपदिक) + vīthī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: 'in the path/track of the sky'

• pracarati: moves
• pracarati: Kriyā (मुख्य-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + car (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra, Parasmaipada; Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana

• tam: that
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• kālam: time-period
• kālam: Karma (कर्म/apposition to tam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• ayanam: an ayana (half-year course)
• ayanam: Karma (कर्म/predicate object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayana (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Napुṁsaka, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; predicate accusative with ācakṣate

• ācakṣate: they call/describe
• ācakṣate: Kriyā (मुख्य-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + cakṣ (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra, Ātmanepada; Prathama-puruṣa, Bahuvacana

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about ayana (half-year)?

It defines ayana as the duration in which the Sun traverses half of the celestial pathway.

Why does Shukadeva Goswami describe the Sun’s motion to King Parikshit?

To explain Bhagavatam’s Vedic cosmology and how time (kāla) is understood through the Sun’s course within the universe.

Practical application of understanding Vedic time (ayana) in modern life?

It helps one align life with sacred time—seeing time as a divine order and using seasons/half-years to structure sādhana, festivals, and disciplined living.