Shloka 34
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
सूर्यो द्वादशभिः शैघ्र्यान् मुहूर्तैर् दक्षिणायने त्रयोदशार्धम् ऋक्षाणाम् अह्ना तु चरते द्विज मुहूर्तैस् तावदृक्षाणि नक्तम् अष्टादशैश् चरन्
sūryo dvādaśabhiḥ śaighryān muhūrtair dakṣiṇāyane trayodaśārdham ṛkṣāṇām ahnā tu carate dvija muhūrtais tāvadṛkṣāṇi naktam aṣṭādaśaiś caran
O twice-born, in Dakṣiṇāyana the Sun moves with a swifter pace: by day, in twelve muhūrtas, he traverses thirteen and a half nakṣatras; by night he covers the same measure in eighteen muhūrtas—thus is his passage measured by the law of Time.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Quantified measure of the sun’s motion in Dakṣiṇāyana by muhūrtas and nakṣatras (day/night)
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: technical, authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: The sun’s passage is governed by fixed measures—by day and by night—revealing time as structured and knowable.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use disciplined timekeeping (daily sādhanā, vrata timing) to harmonize life with cosmic rhythms.
Vishishtadvaita: A stable, intelligible cosmos supports dharma for embodied souls; such stability is consistent with the Lord’s sustaining governance (niyantṛtva), even when presented as astronomical measure.
Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)
FAQs
This verse uses Dakṣiṇāyana to explain how the Sun’s measured pace changes with the season, framing astronomy as part of cosmic order and sacred time-reckoning.
He quantifies the Sun’s traversal in units of muhūrta, stating that in the southern course the Sun covers about thirteen and a half nakṣatras by day in 12 muhūrtas, and a comparable extent by night in 18 muhūrtas.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purāṇic teaching treats time, motion, and celestial order as governed by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose sovereignty makes the cosmos intelligible and ritually meaningful.