Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 7
Dhruva-loka as the Cosmic Pivot and the Śiśumāra-cakra
Viṣṇu’s Astral Form
उत्तराहनावगस्तिरधराहनौ यमो मुखेषु चाङ्गारक: शनैश्चर उपस्थे बृहस्पति: ककुदि वक्षस्यादित्यो हृदये नारायणो मनसि चन्द्रो नाभ्यामुशना स्तनयोरश्विनौ बुध: प्राणापानयो राहुर्गले केतव: सर्वाङ्गेषु रोमसु सर्वे तारागणा: ॥ ७ ॥
uttarā-hanāv agastir adharā-hanau yamo mukheṣu cāṅgārakaḥ śanaiścara upasthe bṛhaspatiḥ kakudi vakṣasy ādityo hṛdaye nārāyaṇo manasi candro nābhyām uśanā stanayor aśvinau budhaḥ prāṇāpānayo rāhur gale ketavaḥ sarvāṅgeṣu romasu sarve tārā-gaṇāḥ.
On the upper chin of the śiśumāra is Agasti; on its lower chin, Yamarāja; on its mouth, Mars; on its genitals, Saturn; on the back of its neck, Jupiter; on its chest, the sun; and within the core of its heart, Nārāyaṇa. Within its mind is the moon; on its navel, Venus; and on its breasts, the Aśvinī-kumāras. Within its life air, which is known as prāṇāpāna, is Mercury, on its neck is Rāhu, all over its body are comets, and in its pores are the numerous stars.
FAQs
This verse maps the grahas, stars, and divine beings onto the limbs of the Virāṭ-puruṣa, showing the cosmos as an ordered manifestation within the Lord’s universal form, with Nārāyaṇa placed centrally in the heart.
The placement signifies that although planets and cosmic forces appear prominent, the indwelling Lord is the true center and sustaining reality of the universe, just as the heart sustains the body.
By seeing the world as pervaded and governed by the Supreme, one cultivates reverence, reduces anxiety about material forces, and strengthens bhakti through remembrance that the Lord is the inner controller of all arrangements.