Shloka 7
The Orbit of the Sun, the Measure of Day and Night, and the Sun-God’s Chariot
एवं नव कोटय एकपञ्चाशल्लक्षाणि योजनानां मानसोत्तरगिरिपरिवर्तनस्योपदिशन्ति तस्मिन्नैन्द्रीं पुरीं पूर्वस्मान्मेरोर्देवधानीं नाम दक्षिणतो याम्यां संयमनीं नाम पश्चाद्वारुणीं निम्लोचनीं नाम उत्तरत: सौम्यां विभावरीं नाम तासूदयमध्याह्नास्तमयनिशीथानीति भूतानां प्रवृत्तिनिवृत्तिनिमित्तानि समयविशेषेण मेरोश्चतुर्दिशम् ॥ ७ ॥
evaṁ nava koṭaya eka-pañcāśal-lakṣāṇi yojanānāṁ mānasottara-giri-parivartanasyopadiśanti tasminn aindrīṁ purīṁ pūrvasmān meror devadhānīṁ nāma dakṣiṇato yāmyāṁ saṁyamanīṁ nāma paścād vāruṇīṁ nimlocanīṁ nāma uttarataḥ saumyāṁ vibhāvarīṁ nāma tāsūdaya-madhyāhnāstamaya-niśīthānīti bhūtānāṁ pravṛtti-nivṛtti-nimittāni samaya-viśeṣeṇa meroś catur-diśam.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: O King, the learned declare that the sun circles Mānasottara Mountain on all sides along a path measuring 9,51,00,000 yojanas. Upon Mānasottara, east of Mount Sumeru lies Devadhānī, the city of Indra; to the south is Saṁyamanī, the city of Yamarāja; to the west is Nimlocanī, the city of Varuṇa; and to the north is Vibhāvarī, the city of the moon-god. According to appointed times, sunrise, midday, sunset, and midnight occur in those places, thus causing all beings to begin and to cease their various duties.
FAQs
This verse states that on Mānasottara Mountain there are four directional cities around Meru—Devadhānī (east/Indra), Saṁyamanī (south/Yama), Nimlocanī (west/Varuṇa), and Vibhāvarī (north/Soma)—which correspond to time-markers like dawn, noon, sunset, and midnight for living beings.
In this cosmological mapping, the southern quarter is termed Yāmyā (of Yama) with the city Saṁyamanī; it reflects the Purāṇic directional guardianship where Yama presides over the south, tying cosmic geography to divine administration.
The verse highlights that daily time divisions govern activity and rest for all beings; a devotee can use this awareness to structure life around sādhana—beginning the day at dawn with remembrance, keeping discipline through midday duties, and ending at night with reflection and prayer.