Shloka 14
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
यैर् यत्र दृश्यते भास्वान् स तेषाम् उदयः स्मृतः तिरोभावं च यत्रैति तत्रैवास्तमनं रवेः
yair yatra dṛśyate bhāsvān sa teṣām udayaḥ smṛtaḥ tirobhāvaṃ ca yatraiti tatraivāstamanaṃ raveḥ
Wherever, and for whomsoever, the radiant Sun becomes visible, that is remembered as their “sunrise.” And wherever he passes from sight into concealment, there itself is spoken of as Ravi’s “sunset.”
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Why ‘sunrise’ and ‘sunset’ are relative to the observer’s seeing and non-seeing of the Sun
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)
Concept: ‘Rising’ and ‘setting’ of the Sun are defined by the observer’s visibility and invisibility of the luminary, while the Sun continues its ordered course.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Notice how many ‘beginnings and endings’ in life are shifts in perspective; cultivate steadiness by distinguishing changing appearances from underlying order.
Vishishtadvaita: Without denying real cosmic order, the verse highlights perspectival limitation (jīva-dṛṣṭi) versus the stable reality of the cosmic function—harmonizing realism with epistemic humility.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)
Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)
FAQs
The verse defines sunrise and sunset as events relative to the observer: sunrise is when the Sun becomes visible, and sunset is when he disappears from view—highlighting an ordered cosmos described through experiential perception.
Parāśara frames “rising” and “setting” as names given from a local standpoint (appearance and disappearance), implying the Sun’s course is continuous while human experience marks its phases.
Even when the verse speaks of the Sun’s visibility, the Purāṇic cosmology ultimately treats such order and time-regulation as operating under Vishnu’s supreme governance—cosmic law functioning as an expression of the Supreme Reality.