Shloka 7
सूर्यरथः, सप्तगणाः, मासाधिकारिणः
The Sun’s Chariot and the Sevenfold Monthly Governors
मित्रो ऽत्रिस् तक्षको रक्षः पौरुषेयो ऽथ मेनका हाहा रथस्वनश् चैव मैत्रेयैते वसन्ति वै
mitro 'tris takṣako rakṣaḥ pauruṣeyo 'tha menakā hāhā rathasvanaś caiva maitreyaite vasanti vai
Maitreya, there indeed dwell: Mitra, Atri, Takṣaka, the Rākṣasa, Pauruṣeya, and Menakā, as well as the Gandharvas Hāhā and Rathasvana.
Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Enumeration of the beings who ‘dwell there’ as presiding/supporting powers in the solar cycle
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)
Vishnu Form: Hari (name)
FAQs
This verse functions as a cosmological register: it maps specific classes of divine and semi-divine beings to a particular region, showing how the universe is populated and regulated as part of Vishnu’s overarching order.
By naming who ‘dwells’ in each sphere, Parāśara presents the cosmos as structured and intentional—an interlocking hierarchy of deities, sages, nāgas, and celestial musicians—rather than a random expanse.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the catalog of residents supports the Purana’s core claim: the worlds and their governing beings operate within a divinely sustained order ultimately grounded in Vishnu as the Supreme Reality.