Shloka 9
इन्द्रो विश्वावसुः स्रोत एलापत्रस् तथाङ्गिराः प्रम्लोचा च नभस्य् एते सर्पश् चार्के वसन्ति वै
indro viśvāvasuḥ srota elāpatras tathāṅgirāḥ pramlocā ca nabhasy ete sarpaś cārke vasanti vai
In the month of Nabhasya, these are said to abide with Arka (the Sun): Indra; Viśvāvasu the Gandharva; Srota the Yakṣa; Elāpatra the Nāga; Aṅgiras the Ṛṣi; and Pramlocā the Apsaras—each upholding the Sun’s ordained course.
Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Nabhasya month attendants abiding with Arka (Sun) to sustain the ordained course
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: systematic
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)
Concept: Cosmic order (ṛta) manifests through coordinated roles—deva, ṛṣi, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, apsaras—aligned with the Sun’s course.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate respect for interdependence and duty (svadharma) as reflections of cosmic coordination.
Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s governance operates through real plurality of agents within His overarching unity.
FAQs
It presents the Sun’s monthly course as a governed cosmic institution: different classes of beings are assigned roles that uphold the regularity of time and seasons, reflecting an ordered universe under higher divine law.
He enumerates the Sun’s monthly attendants—deities and semi-divine beings—showing that each month has a specific retinue associated with Surya (Arka), thereby structuring calendrical time as part of cosmic order.
Even when the verse names Surya and other celestial beings, the Purana’s framework treats such governance as functioning within Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty—cosmic order and time are ultimately rooted in the Supreme Reality.