Shloka 21
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
प्रभा विवस्वतो रात्राव् अस्तं गच्छति भास्करे विशत्य् अग्निम् अतो रात्रौ वह्निर् दूरात् प्रकाशते
prabhā vivasvato rātrāv astaṃ gacchati bhāskare viśaty agnim ato rātrau vahnir dūrāt prakāśate
When Vivasvat, the Sun, sets at night, his radiance does not perish; it enters into fire. Therefore in the night the flame shines even from afar, bearing within it the Sun’s borrowed splendor.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Sacred geography and the natural/cosmic mechanisms (sun, fire, waters) underlying day-night phenomena
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Tejas is conserved and relocates: the Sun’s radiance, when unseen at night, abides in Agni and manifests as the flame’s far-seen brilliance.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Contemplate change as transformation rather than loss, cultivating steadiness amid cycles of visibility and concealment.
Vishishtadvaita: Suggests ordered mutual dependence within one divinely governed cosmos (niyati), compatible with the Lord as inner regulator though not named here.
FAQs
This verse explains it as the Sun’s radiance entering fire after sunset, so flame appears especially luminous in darkness and can be seen from afar.
He presents light as conserved and redistributed: the Sun’s visible setting is a change of location/visibility, while its brilliance is said to merge into Agni during the night.
Even when discussing natural phenomena, the Purāṇa frames cosmic regularity as sustained by a higher sovereign order—ultimately rooted in Vishnu as the governing principle behind the harmony of elements and worlds.