Shloka 5

सूर्यरथः, सप्तगणाः, मासाधिकारिणः

The Sun’s Chariot and the Sevenfold Monthly Governors

Devanagari script

अर्यमा पुलहश् चैव रथौजाः पुञ्जिकस्थला प्रहेतिः कच्छनीरश् च नारदश् च रथे रवेः

Transliteration

aryamā pulahaś caiva rathaujāḥ puñjikasthalā prahetiḥ kacchanīraś ca nāradaś ca rathe raveḥ

Translation

Upon the chariot of Ravi, the Sun, ride Aryamā and Pulaha, Rathaujā and Puñjikasthalā, along with Praheti, Kacchanīra, and Nārada—attendants of the solar course, whose ordered presence reflects the sovereignty of the Supreme Lord throughout the cosmos.

Word by Word

• अर्यमा: Aryamā
• अर्यमा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्यमन्/अर्यमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• पुलहः: Pulaha
• पुलहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुलह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-निपात

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात

• रथौजाः: Rathaujā
• रथौजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक) + ओजस्/ओज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रथस्य ओजः/बलम्) नामरूपेण

• पुञ्जिकस्थला: Puñjikasthalā
• पुञ्जिकस्थला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुञ्जिक (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पुञ्जिकायाः स्थला) नामरूपेण

• प्रहेतिः: Praheti
• प्रहेतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र-हेति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• कच्छनीरः: Kacchanīra
• कच्छनीरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कच्छनीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-निपात

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-निपात

• रथे: in/on the chariot
• रथे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• रवेः: of the Sun
• रवेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रवि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Further monthly roster of Sūrya’s chariot attendants (another set of seven)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Ravi (Surya, the Sun)
• Aryamā
• Pulaha
• Rathaujā
• Puñjikasthalā
• Praheti
• Kacchanīra
• Nārada
• Vishnu (implied as the Supreme regulator behind cosmic functions)

FAQs

What is the significance of listing attendants on Surya’s chariot in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse frames the Sun’s movement as a governed cosmic function, carried out by specific divine and sage-like attendants—signaling that universal order operates through appointed agencies under the Supreme principle.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic administration in this section?

Parāśara enumerates the beings associated with the Sun’s chariot to show that time (day, season, year) is not random but maintained by an organized retinue—an ordered hierarchy within the cosmos.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named directly, the Purana’s cosmology implies that Surya and his attendants function as instruments of the Supreme Lord’s sustaining power (sthiti), expressing divine sovereignty through orderly natural law.