Shloka 23
अरुणो दृश्यते ब्रह्मन् प्रभातसमये सदा । आदित्यरथमध्यास्ते सारथ्यं समकल्पयत्,इस प्रकार विनताको शाप देकर वह बालक अरुण अन्तरिक्षमें उड़ गया। ब्रह्मन! तभीसे प्रातःकाल (प्राची दिशामें) सदा जो लाली दिखायी देती है, उसके रूपमें विनताके पुत्र अरुणका ही दर्शन होता है। वह सूर्यदेवके रथपर जा बैठा और उनके सारथिका काम सँभालने लगा
aruṇo dṛśyate brahman prabhātasamaye sadā | ādityarathamadhyāste sārathyaṃ samakalpayat ||
Śaunaka said: “O Brahman, at the time of dawn a reddish glow is always seen. That very radiance is understood as the appearance of Aruṇa, Vinatā’s son. Having departed after the curse, he rose into the mid-air and thereafter took his seat upon the Sun-god’s chariot, assuming the duty of Sūrya’s charioteer.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links a visible natural rhythm (the red glow of dawn) to a moral-cosmic idea: beings take up roles within ṛta (order). Aruṇa, though affected by a curse, turns his condition into purposeful service by assuming the charioteer’s duty for Sūrya—suggesting that duty and right placement can transform adversity into meaningful function.
Śaunaka explains that the constant redness seen at daybreak is Aruṇa’s manifestation. After being cursed and departing into the sky, Aruṇa comes to reside on the Sun-god’s chariot and serves as Sūrya’s charioteer.