Shloka 2
लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्
तथैव ग्रहसंस्थानं प्रमाणानि यथातथम् समाचक्ष्व महाभाग मह्यं त्वं परिपृच्छते
tathaiva grahasaṃsthānaṃ pramāṇāni yathātatham samācakṣva mahābhāga mahyaṃ tvaṃ paripṛcchate
In the same way, O greatly fortunate one, describe to me—exactly as it truly is—the arrangement of the planets and their respective measures, for I am asking you.
Maitreya (addressing Sage Parāśara)
Speaker: Maitreya
Topic: Arrangement of planets (graha-saṃsthāna) and their measures (pramāṇas) accurately as they are
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: earnest
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: True understanding seeks faithful description (yathātatham) of cosmic arrangement and proportion, not speculation.
Application: Cultivate intellectual honesty: distinguish received models, direct experience, and inference; apply ‘yathātatham’ as a discipline in study and practice.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms a knowable, ordered cosmos consistent with īśvara-niyati (divine governance), encouraging reverent study as a form of devotion.
FAQs
It frames cosmic order as something knowable and describable, setting up a systematic account of the universe’s structure and the placement of celestial bodies.
This verse introduces Maitreya’s request for precise, ‘as-it-is’ measurements; Parāśara’s response (in the surrounding verses) proceeds as an authoritative mapping of planetary positions and dimensions.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇa’s cosmology functions as a description of an ordered universe ultimately grounded in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—who sustains and regulates the cosmic system.