Shloka 18

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

ध्रुवसूर्यान्तरं यत् तु नियुतानि चतुर्दश स्वर्लोकः सो ऽपि गदितो लोकसंस्थानचिन्तकैः

Transliteration

dhruvasūryāntaraṃ yat tu niyutāni caturdaśa svarlokaḥ so 'pi gadito lokasaṃsthānacintakaiḥ

Translation

The interval between Dhruva (the Pole Star) and the Sun is said to be fourteen niyutas; and that region is declared to be Svarloka (heaven) by those who contemplate the ordered structure of the cosmos.

Word by Word

• dhruvasūryāntaram: the space between Dhruva and the sun
• dhruvasūryāntaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक) + sūrya (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विषय (interval between Dhruva and the sun)

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• niyutāni: niyutas (ten-thousands)
• niyutāni: Karma (Measure/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niyuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक (a number: myriads/ten-thousands)

• caturdaśa: fourteen
• caturdaśa: Visheshana (Quantifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + daśa (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्द (indeclinable numeral in usage); परिमाणविशेषण (quantifier)

• svarlokaḥ: Svarloka (heaven-world)
• svarlokaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svar (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/विषय

• saḥ: that
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Addition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also)

• gaditaḥ: is declared
• gaditaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gad (धातु) → gadita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is stated/declared’

• lokasaṃsthānacintakaiḥ: by those who consider the structure of the worlds
• lokasaṃsthānacintakaiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthāna (प्रातिपदिक) + cintaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; करण/कर्तृ (agent in passive): by the thinkers on the arrangement of worlds

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Measure between Dhruva and the Sun and identification of that region as Svargaloka

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Heaven (Svarga) is presented not merely as reward, but as a precisely situated cosmic region within an intelligible, measured universe.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Let cosmological order inspire inner order: regulate life (yama-niyama, discipline) as a microcosmic reflection of macrocosmic structure.

Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic measurability underscores a real, structured universe (acit) governed by divine law, compatible with Viśiṣṭādvaita’s doctrine of an ordered Brahman-body cosmos.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Dhruva
• Surya
• Svarga (Svarloka)

FAQs

What is the significance of the distance between Dhruva and the Sun in the Vishnu Purana?

It functions as a cosmological marker: the Purāṇa frames the heavens through measured intervals, situating Svarga within an ordered, intelligible universe.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of the worlds (loka-saṃsthāna)?

He presents the cosmos as a layered system with defined regions and distances; learned 'lokasaṃsthāna-cintakas' are cited as authorities who articulate these measures.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s cosmology is ultimately grounded in Vishnu as the supreme sustaining reality whose order governs the arrangement of lokas and celestial motions.