Shloka 2

Uttarā-diśā Māhātmya — Suparṇa’s Praise of the Northern Quarter

Suparṇa–Gālava Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

अत्र पश्चादहः सूर्यो विसर्जयति गा: स्वयम्‌ । पश्चिमेत्यभिविख्याता दिगियं द्विजसत्तम,द्विजश्रेष्ठ दिनके पश्चात्‌ सूर्यदेव इसी दिशामें स्वयं अपनी किरणोंका विसर्जन करते हैं, इसलिये यह “पश्चिम' के नामसे विख्यात है

Transliteration

atra paścādahaḥ sūryo visarjayati gāḥ svayam | paścimety abhivikhyātā dig iyaṃ dvijasattama ||

Translation

O Bester der Zweimalgeborenen! Am Ende des Tages lässt die Sonne selbst ihre Strahlen in diese Richtung fahren. Darum ist dieses Viertel als „der Westen“ bekannt.

Word by Word

अत्रhere

पश्चात्afterwards

अहःday (as time: after the day)

सूर्यःthe Sun

विसर्जयतिreleases, lets go, emits

गाःrays (lit. cows; here: sunbeams)

स्वयम्by himself, of his own accord

पश्चिमेin the west

इतिthus (quotative)

अभिविख्याताwell-known, renowned

दिक्direction

इयम्this

द्विजसत्तमO best of the twice-born (Brahmin)

Speaker

युपर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sūrya (Sun deity)

Paścima-dik (the western direction)

Dvijasattama (addressed Brahmin interlocutor)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links human naming and orientation (the ‘West’) to a regular cosmic act—the Sun’s withdrawal/release of rays at day’s end—implying that worldly conventions should align with the stable order of nature (ṛta), which supports dharmic living.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker explains why a particular quarter is called ‘paścima’ (west): at the end of the day the Sun ‘releases’ his rays there, i.e., he sets and his light departs, making that direction famous by this characteristic.