Shloka 71
Matsya Purana — Solar–Lunar Motions
सूर्यो द्वादशभिः शीघ्रं मुहूर्तैर्दक्षिणायने त्रयोदशार्धमृक्षाणां मध्ये चरति मण्डलम् //
sūryo dvādaśabhiḥ śīghraṃ muhūrtairdakṣiṇāyane trayodaśārdhamṛkṣāṇāṃ madhye carati maṇḍalam //
During the southern course of the year (dakṣiṇāyana), the Sun swiftly traverses his circular path, passing through the midst of thirteen and a half lunar mansions (nakṣatras) in twelve muhūrtas.
FAQs
This verse does not describe pralaya directly; it supports the Matsya Purana’s broader cosmology by defining measurable celestial motion (the Sun’s dakṣiṇāyana course) that underlies cyclic time in which creation, maintenance, and dissolution are periodically situated.
By specifying the Sun’s movement in dakṣiṇāyana using muhūrtas and nakṣatras, the verse aids correct calendrical reckoning for rites, donations, and state-religious observances—key duties for householders and for kings who uphold public ritual order and festival timing.
Ritually, it informs muhurta-selection (auspicious timing) by linking seasonal solar motion to nakṣatra-based timekeeping; such jyotiṣa timing is commonly applied to consecrations, temple rites, and other saṃskāras even when architectural details are not explicitly stated in the verse.