Shloka 1
सोमचक्रः, ग्रह-रथाः, ध्रुवबन्धनं, शिशुमारसंनिवेशः, विष्णु-सर्वात्मकता
Moon, Planets, Dhruva-Tethering, Śiśumāra, and Vishnu as All
रथस् त्रिचक्रः सोमस्य कुन्दाभास् तस्य वाजिनः वामदक्षिणतो युक्ता दश तेन चरत्य् असौ
rathas tricakraḥ somasya kundābhās tasya vājinaḥ vāmadakṣiṇato yuktā daśa tena caraty asau
The Moon’s chariot is three-wheeled; its steeds are radiant like jasmine. Ten horses are yoked to it, to the left and the right, and by them that luminary moves along its ordained course.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Description of the Moon’s chariot and motion as part of celestial mechanics
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: The Moon’s movement is portrayed as orderly and ordained, symbolized by a three-wheeled chariot drawn by ten luminous steeds.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use contemplations on the regularity of celestial cycles to steady the mind (dhyāna) and to honor vows/fasts aligned with lunar time.
Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos displays purposeful order (niyati) under divine governance; celestial bodies function as instruments within the Lord’s cosmic body.
FAQs
It presents the Moon’s motion as structured and law-governed, using chariot imagery to convey an ordered cosmos rather than randomness—an expression of cosmic regulation upheld within the Purana’s worldview.
Parāśara describes Soma as traveling by a chariot with ten yoked horses placed on the left and right, a narrative device that explains celestial motion through a vivid, traditional cosmological model.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s cosmology assumes a supreme ordering principle: the luminaries move in fixed courses because the universe is sustained and governed by the highest reality identified with Vishnu.