Shloka 23

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

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

Devanagari script

तथा केतुरथस्याश्वा अष्टौ ते वातरंहसः पलालधूमवर्णाभा लाक्षारसनिभारुणाः

Transliteration

tathā keturathasyāśvā aṣṭau te vātaraṃhasaḥ palāladhūmavarṇābhā lākṣārasanibhāruṇāḥ

Translation

Likewise, Keturatha has eight horses—swift as the wind—whose hue is like the smoke of burning chaff, and whose bodies shine with a ruddy glow, like liquid lac.

Word by Word

• तथा: thus/likewise
• तथा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार-अव्यय (adverb)

• केतुरथस्य: of Ketu’s chariot
• केतुरथस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केतु-रथ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• अश्वाः: horses
• अश्वाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural; numeral

• ते: they/those
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural; pronoun

• वातरंहसः: swift as the wind
• वातरंहसः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वात-रंहस् (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural; ‘wind-swift’ (वातेन रंहः यस्य)

• पलालधूमवर्णाभाः: having the hue of chaff-smoke
• पलालधूमवर्णाभाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पलाल-धूम-वर्ण-आभा (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural; ‘having the appearance/color of chaff-smoke’

• लाक्षारसनिभारुणाः: reddish like lac-juice
• लाक्षारसनिभारुणाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लाक्षा-रस-निभ-अरुण (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural; ‘reddish like lac-juice’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Description of graha-vehicles/chariots and their attributes (Ketu’s chariot horses)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: descriptive, authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Characters & Entities

• Keturatha

FAQs

What is the significance of describing the Sun’s horses in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse uses vivid imagery to convey the ordered, divinely-governed motion of the solar sphere—an emblem of cosmic law upheld under Vishnu’s sovereignty.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic order in this chapter?

By enumerating the Sun’s chariot retinue and their attributes, Parāśara presents the universe as a structured system with appointed beings and regulated motion rather than randomness.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the cosmological framework presumes him as the Supreme Reality whose will sustains the Sun’s course and thereby the rhythm of time and life.