Shloka 23

Measurements of the Sun’s Chariot, the Wheel of Time, and the Retinues of the Solar Months; Chariots of Soma and the Grahas

Devanagari script

वामदक्षिणतो युक्ता दश तेन चरत्यसौ / वार्य (य्व) ग्रनिद्रव्यसम्भूतो रथश्चन्द्रसुतस्यच

Transliteration

vāmadakṣiṇato yuktā daśa tena caratyasau / vārya (yva) granidravyasambhūto rathaścandrasutasyaca

Translation

Links und rechts sind zehn Pferde angeschirrt; durch sie bewegt er sich. Und auch der Wagen des Sohnes des Mondes ist aus wässrigen Stoffen und duftenden Materialien gefertigt.

Word by Word

• वामदक्षिणतः: from the left and right sides
• वामदक्षिणतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वाम (प्रातिपदिक) + दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक) + तः (अव्यय-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त दिशावाचक (from left and right); द्वन्द्व-आधार

• युक्ताः: yoked/attached
• युक्ताः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युज् (धातु) → युक्त (क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृदन्त (joined/yoked)

• दश: ten
• दश: Sankhya (Numeral modifier/संख्या)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; (अव्ययवत्) प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनार्थे

• तेन: by that/with that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• चरति: moves/travels
• चरति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• असौ: that one (he)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वार्य: watery/water-born
• वार्य: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वारि (प्रातिपदिक) → वार्य (तद्धित/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (सन्दर्भानुसार), प्रातिपदिक; 'water-born/aqueous' अर्थे (पाठभेद-सूचित)

• ग्रनिद्रव्यसम्भूतः: arisen/formed from (some) substance (textually uncertain)
• ग्रनिद्रव्यसम्भूतः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्रनि/ग्रन्थि (प्रातिपदिक, पाठदोषसम्भव) + द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्भूत (सम्+भू धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (द्रव्येण/द्रव्यतः सम्भूतः)

• रथः: chariot
• रथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• चन्द्रसुतस्य: of the son of the Moon
• चन्द्रसुतस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (चन्द्रस्य सुतः)

• च: and
• च: Connector (Samuccaya/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Balance (left-right yoking) and subtle elements (water, fragrance) underlie movement and influence; the cosmos operates through both gross and subtle constituents.

Vedantic Theme: Sūkṣma-bhūta (tanmātra-like) suggestion: fragrance as subtle quality; interplay of elements within ordered manifestation.

Application: Seek balance in conduct (left-right symmetry as metaphor); value subtle influences—environment, scent, atmosphere—on mind and ritual focus.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: celestial route

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.58 (continued graha descriptions; ten-horse motif within chariot catalog)

Characters & Entities

• Candra (Moon)
• Candra-suta (son of the Moon)

FAQs

What is the importance of the chariot description in Garuda Purana?

This verse uses vivid cosmological imagery—yoked horses and a chariot made of subtle elements—to convey the divine, non-human (subtle) nature of celestial movement and order in creation.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by contrasting celestial vehicles made of subtle substances with ordinary material forms, it supports the Purana’s broader theme that travel and experience can occur through subtle means—an idea also applied to the soul’s post-death journey elsewhere in the text.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat scriptural cosmology as a reminder of unseen order (ṛta/dharma): cultivate disciplined conduct and reverence, rather than reducing reality only to the gross/material level.