Shloka 28
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
अयनस्योत्तरस्यादौ मकरं याति भास्करः ततः कुम्भं च मीनं च राशे राश्यन्तरं द्विज
ayanasyottarasyādau makaraṃ yāti bhāskaraḥ tataḥ kumbhaṃ ca mīnaṃ ca rāśe rāśyantaraṃ dvija
At the commencement of the Sun’s northern course (uttarāyaṇa), Bhāskara enters Capricorn; thereafter he passes into Aquarius and then into Pisces—moving, O twice-born one, from sign to sign in due succession.
Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The Sun’s uttarāyaṇa (northern course) and its passage through zodiacal signs (rāśis).
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Seasonal/solar order is expressed through the Sun’s uttarāyaṇa and its orderly transition through rāśis (Makara, Kumbha, Mīna).
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Align discipline and vows with seasonal rhythms (e.g., heightened sādhana in uttarāyaṇa) to support consistency in practice.
Vishishtadvaita: The intelligible patterning of celestial movement supports a worldview where nature is purposeful and governed, not random, fitting the Lord’s immanent rule.
FAQs
This verse frames uttarāyaṇa as a cosmically ordered phase marked by the Sun’s entry into Makara and its successive movement through the zodiac, showing time as a regulated, intelligible pattern within Purāṇic cosmology.
Parāśara describes the Sun (Bhāskara) progressing sign by sign (rāśyantara), beginning the northern course with Makara and then moving through Kumbha and Mīna in sequence.
Even when Vishnu is not named directly, the Vishnu Purana presents cosmic regularity—such as the Sun’s ordained course—as part of the Supreme Lord’s sustaining sovereignty, where celestial order reflects the deeper governance of reality.