Shloka 18
Measurements of the Sun’s Chariot, the Wheel of Time, and the Retinues of the Solar Months; Chariots of Soma and the Grahas
त्वष्टाथ जमदग्निश्च कम्बलो ऽथ तिलोत्तमा / ब्रह्मापेतो ऽथ ऋतजिद्धृतराष्ट्रश्च सप्तमः / माघमासे वसन्त्येते सप्त भास्करमण्डले
tvaṣṭātha jamadagniśca kambalo 'tha tilottamā / brahmāpeto 'tha ṛtajiddhṛtarāṣṭraśca saptamaḥ / māghamāse vasantyete sapta bhāskaramaṇḍale
Tvaṣṭā, Jamadagni, Kambala, Tilottamā, Brahmāpeta, Ṛtajit, and as the seventh Dhṛtarāṣṭra—these seven reside in the orb of the Sun during the month of Māgha.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda)
Concept: Devotional remembrance through sacred names connected to time; month as a doorway to worship.
Vedantic Theme: Upāsanā on a visible deity (Sūrya) as a support leading the mind toward the Supreme regulator (Viṣṇu/Īśvara).
Application: In Māgha, intensify sunrise worship, japa, and charity; use month-based sankalpa to stabilize devotion.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: celestial sphere
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.58 (solar-month residents; culminates in sages praising Sūrya by Viṣṇu-śakti)
FAQs
This verse highlights Māgha as a distinct solar period in which specific seven beings are said to reside in the Sun’s sphere, indicating Māgha’s ritual and cosmological significance in Purāṇic timekeeping.
Indirectly: it situates the teaching within a broader Purāṇic cosmology where cosmic spheres (like the Sun-orb) and their presiding beings structure sacred time—background knowledge often used to time rites connected to dharma and post-death observances.
Use Māgha as a dedicated period for disciplined dharma—such as sunrise prayers, charity, and purification practices—aligning personal observance with sacred time described in the Purāṇic worldview.