Shloka 3
सोमचक्रः, ग्रह-रथाः, ध्रुवबन्धनं, शिशुमारसंनिवेशः, विष्णु-सर्वात्मकता
Moon, Planets, Dhruva-Tethering, Śiśumāra, and Vishnu as All
अर्कस्येव हि तस्याश्वाः सकृद्युक्ता वहन्ति ते कल्पम् एकं मुनिश्रेष्ठ वारिगर्भसमुद्भवाः
arkasyeva hi tasyāśvāḥ sakṛdyuktā vahanti te kalpam ekaṃ muniśreṣṭha vārigarbhasamudbhavāḥ
His steeds are like the Sun’s own: once yoked, O best of sages, they bear him onward through a single Kalpa. They are born from the womb of the waters, arising from the oceanic source.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Cosmic mechanics of the luminaries and their time-measures (kalpa-scale motion).
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Creation Stage: Kalpa
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: The luminary’s motion is sustained over a full Kalpa by steeds (forces) arising from the cosmic waters, indicating time itself is upheld by ordered cosmic powers.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use the vastness of kalpa-time to relativize personal anxieties and cultivate steadiness (dhairya) and devotion to the cosmic governor.
Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic processes function as divinely instituted powers within the Lord’s order, supporting the view that prakṛti operates under supreme governance rather than independently.
FAQs
It emphasizes uninterrupted cosmic regulation: once set in motion, the celestial mechanism continues steadily through an entire Kalpa, symbolizing the stability of universal order.
He states they arise from the “womb of the waters,” pointing to the primordial cosmic waters as a generative source behind the forces that uphold the rhythms of time.
The orderly movement of the Sun through vast cycles implies a higher sovereignty governing time and cosmos—ultimately grounded in Vishnu as the supreme sustaining reality behind cosmic law.