Shloka 23

Devanagari script

सो ऽयं सप्तगणः सूर्यमण्डले मुनिसत्तम हिमोष्णवारिवृष्टीनां हेतुः स्वसमयं गतः

Transliteration

so 'yaṃ saptagaṇaḥ sūryamaṇḍale munisattama himoṣṇavārivṛṣṭīnāṃ hetuḥ svasamayaṃ gataḥ

Translation

Thus, O best of sages, this very sevenfold company, abiding in the sphere of the Sun, becomes the governing cause of cold and heat and the falling of rain—each performing its function when its appointed season arrives.

Word by Word

• सः: he/that
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• सप्तगणः: the group of seven
• सप्तगणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त (प्रातिपदिक) + गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); द्विगु-समास (numeral compound): ‘सप्तानां गणः/सप्तगणः’

• सूर्यमण्डले: in the solar orb
• सूर्यमण्डले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘सूर्यस्य मण्डले’

• मुनिसत्तम: O best of sages
• मुनिसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भाव: ‘मुनिषु सत्तमः’

• हिमोष्णवारिवृष्टीनाम्: of cold/heat/water-rains
• हिमोष्णवारिवृष्टीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिम (प्रातिपदिक) + उष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + वारि (प्रातिपदिक) + वृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine, agreeing with वृष्टि as head), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural); समाहार-द्वन्द्व/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व-समास (contextual): ‘हिम-उष्ण-वारि-वृष्टीनाम्’ = of snow/ cold, heat, rainfalls of water

• हेतुः: cause
• हेतुः: Karta/Predicate nominative (कर्ता/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्वसमयम्: its own proper time
• स्वसमयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + समय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष: ‘स्वः समयः’ (one’s own time/appointed time)

• गतः: has reached/has gone
• गतः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्तरि-प्रयोगार्थ (used predicatively: ‘has gone/has reached’)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the sevenfold solar company regulates seasons and climatic phenomena

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Time-bound order (ṛtu) governs natural phenomena, each power acting in its appointed season within a larger cosmic administration.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Live rhythmically with time—ethical routines, seasonal discipline, and patience—recognizing that results ripen ‘in their own time’.

Vishishtadvaita: Implied coordination of many agents into one ordered whole aligns with Viśiṣṭādvaita’s organic unity of the cosmos under the Supreme.

Characters & Entities

• Surya (the Sun)
• Saptagaṇa (sevenfold host)

FAQs

What is the significance of the ‘sevenfold host’ (saptagaṇa) in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, the saptagaṇa represents the ordered set of agencies stationed in the Sun’s sphere that regulate seasonal and climatic phenomena—cold, heat, and rain—showing that nature operates through structured cosmic administration.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the timing of natural phenomena like rain and seasonal temperature?

Parāśara states that these effects arise when each agency reaches its own proper time (sva-samaya), emphasizing a law-like rhythm to the universe rather than randomness.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context of cosmic regulation?

Even when the verse names solar agencies, the Vishnu Purana’s larger teaching frames such order as ultimately upheld by Vishnu’s sovereignty—cosmic processes function as instruments within a divinely sustained universal order.