Shloka 28
सोमचक्रः, ग्रह-रथाः, ध्रुवबन्धनं, शिशुमारसंनिवेशः, विष्णु-सर्वात्मकता
Moon, Planets, Dhruva-Tethering, Śiśumāra, and Vishnu as All
अलातचक्रवद् यान्ति वातचक्रेरितानि तु यस्माज् ज्योतींषि वहति प्रवहस् तेन स स्मृतः
alātacakravad yānti vātacakreritāni tu yasmāj jyotīṃṣi vahati pravahas tena sa smṛtaḥ
Like the whirling circle traced by a firebrand, the heavenly lights move, impelled by the revolving wheel of the winds; and because that mighty current bears the luminaries along, it is remembered as Pravaha, the great carrying stream.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Name and function of the wind-current that carries the luminaries
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: The luminaries’ orderly motion is attributed to Pravaha, the ‘carrying’ cosmic current, illustrating named secondary causes within divine order.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use the idea of ‘Pravaha’ as a meditation on continuity and discipline—steady forces sustain visible outcomes.
Vishishtadvaita: Acknowledges a structured cosmos with operative forces, compatible with the Lord’s governance through ordered agencies.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
FAQs
Pravaha is described as the cosmic current/wind that carries the luminaries, explaining their steady, ordered motion as part of the universe’s regulated design.
He uses the image of a firebrand whirled in a circle: the lights appear to move in a continuous circuit because they are propelled by the revolving ‘wheel’ of winds.
Even when describing physical cosmology, the Purana implies a higher sovereignty: the universe’s orderly motions operate under the supreme governance of Vishnu, the ground of cosmic law.