Shloka 20

सोमचक्रः, ग्रह-रथाः, ध्रुवबन्धनं, शिशुमारसंनिवेशः, विष्णु-सर्वात्मकता

Moon, Planets, Dhruva-Tethering, Śiśumāra, and Vishnu as All

Devanagari script

आकाशसंभवैर् अश्वैः शबलैः स्यन्दनं युतम् समारुह्य शनैर् याति मन्दगामी शनैश्चरः

Transliteration

ākāśasaṃbhavair aśvaiḥ śabalaiḥ syandanaṃ yutam samāruhya śanair yāti mandagāmī śanaiścaraḥ

Translation

Mounting a chariot yoked with dappled horses born of the sky itself, Śanaiścara—slow by very nature—moves onward gradually, advancing with measured pace.

Word by Word

• आकाशसंभवैः: sky-born
• आकाशसंभवैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकाश-सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक; आकाश + सम्भव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘आकाशात् सम्भवाः’

• अश्वैः: with horses
• अश्वैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• शबलैः: dappled, variegated
• शबलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शबल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• स्यन्दनम्: chariot
• स्यन्दनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्यन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• युतम्: yoked, furnished
• युतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यु (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; स्यन्दनम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• समारुह्य: having mounted
• समारुह्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-आ-रुह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) अव्यय—‘समारुह्य’ = having mounted

• शनैः: slowly
• शनैः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शनैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• याति: goes, moves
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• मन्दगामी: slow-moving
• मन्दगामी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द-गामिन् (प्रातिपदिक; मन्द + गामिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘मन्दं गच्छति’

• शनैश्चरः: Śanaiścara (Saturn)
• शनैश्चरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शनैः-चर (प्रातिपदिक; शनैः + चर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संज्ञा—‘slow-walker’ (Saturn)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Distinctive nature of Śanaiścara (Saturn) and his slow movement

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: matter-of-fact, descriptive

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The slow-moving graha suggests that some results unfold gradually, encouraging patience and endurance under time’s governance.

Vedantic Theme: Karma

Application: Practice long-horizon discipline (daily japa, steady ethics) without demanding immediate results.

Vishishtadvaita: Karmic order operates within the Lord’s governance; time and its delays are not outside divine providence.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Śanaiścara (Saturn)

FAQs

What is the significance of Śanaiścara’s slow movement in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse encodes Saturn’s defining attribute—gradual motion—presenting time as disciplined and measured within the cosmic order upheld by the divine.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the planets in this chapter’s dialogue framework?

Parāśara, answering Maitreya, describes each graha via its chariot, horses, and manner of motion—linking observable order to a sacred cosmological system.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the orderly functioning of the grahas is presented as part of the divinely sustained cosmos—time and movement operating under the Supreme’s sovereignty.