Shloka 6
दक्षिणा-दिक्, पितृपक्ष-प्रतिष्ठा, तथा कर्मगतिः — Suparṇa’s Cosmographic Instruction
विप्रवर! जिस दिशामें सम्पूर्ण जगत्को उत्पन्न एवं प्रभावित करनेवाले भगवान् सूर्य प्रथम उदित होते हैं
yūparṇa uvāca | vipravara! yasyāṃ diśi sampūrṇaṃ jagad utpādya prabhāvayati bhagavān sūryaḥ prathamaṃ udeti, yasyāṃ diśi sandhyāsamaye sādhyagaṇās tapasyanti, yasyāṃ diśi (gāyatrījapena) pūrvam sā buddhir labdhā yā sarvaṃ jagad vyāptavatī, dharmasya yugal-netrasvarūpau candrasūryau prathamaṃ yasyāṃ diśy udetas, yasyāṃ ca prāyaḥ pūrvābhimukhena dharmānuṣṭhānāt dharmaḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ, yasyāṃ diśi pavitrahaviṣā hutam āhutiḥ sarvāsu dikṣu prasṛtā bhavati, sā eṣā pūrvā diśā divasas sūryamārgasya ca dvāram || atra pūrvā prasūtā vai dākṣāyaṇyaḥ prajāḥ striyaḥ | yasyāṃ diśi pravṛddhāś ca kaśyapasyātmasaṃbhavāḥ ||
Yūparṇa sprach: „O Bester der Brahmanen, jene Richtung, in der die selige Sonne zuerst aufgeht—die ganze Welt hervorbringend und belebend; jene Richtung, in der zur Dämmerzeit die Sādhyas Askese üben; jene Richtung, in der durch das Rezitieren der Gāyatrī zuerst die allumfassende Einsicht erlangt wurde; jene Richtung, in der Mond und Sonne, die beiden Augen des Dharma, zuerst erscheinen; und jene Richtung, in der Dharma fest gegründet wurde, weil die Riten gemeinhin nach Osten gewandt vollzogen werden—das ist wahrlich der Osten, das Tor des Tages und der Eingang zum Sonnenpfad. In eben jener östlichen Region brachten die Töchter Dakṣas zuerst die Klassen der Geschöpfe hervor, und dort nahm die selbstgeborene Nachkommenschaft Kaśyapas an Zahl zu.“
युपर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sacralizes the eastern direction as the ‘gateway of day’ and the Sun’s path, grounding this in ritual practice (east-facing rites, havis offerings), ethical symbolism (Sun and Moon as Dharma’s eyes), and cosmological genealogy (Dakṣa’s daughters and Kaśyapa’s progeny). It teaches that orientation and disciplined practice align human conduct with cosmic order (dharma).
Yūparṇa addresses a Brahmin and explains why the east is preeminent: the Sun rises there, celestial beings perform austerities at twilight, spiritual insight is associated with Gāyatrī recitation, and ritual offerings are conceived as spreading to all directions. He then adds a mythic-historical justification by linking the east with primordial creation through Dakṣa’s daughters and the flourishing of Kaśyapa’s descendants.