Shloka 44

सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्

Devanagari script

षड् एव राशयो भुङ्क्ते रात्राव् अन्यांश् च षड् दिवा

Transliteration

ṣaḍ eva rāśayo bhuṅkte rātrāv anyāṃś ca ṣaḍ divā

Translation

By night, the Sun is said to traverse only six zodiacal signs; and by day, the other six.

Word by Word

• षट्: six
• षट्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc) बहुवचन-समर्थ; अत्र ‘राशयः’ इति विशेषणम्

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; only/indeed)

• राशयः: signs (rāśis)
• राशयः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• भुङ्क्ते: passes through/consumes
• भुङ्क्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• रात्रौ: at night
• रात्रौ: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कालाधिकरण

• अन्यान्: other
• अन्यान्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘(राशीन्)’ इति अनुक्त-विशेष्यं

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• षट्: six
• षट्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचन-समर्थ; अत्र ‘(राशीन्)’ इति विशेषणम्

• दिवा: by day
• दिवा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिवा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (by day)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Division of the Sun’s zodiacal traversal into night and day segments (six rāśis each)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Sun’s passage is described as six rāśis by night and the other six by day, articulating a structured measure by which time is reckoned.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Adopt a balanced discipline—day for outward duties, night for inward recollection—reflecting the cosmos’ partitioned order.

Vishishtadvaita: Structured temporal divisions are real attributes of the Lord’s cosmos, supporting a world that is meaningful and purposive under divine sovereignty.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Characters & Entities

• Sun (Sūrya)
• Rāśis (Zodiacal signs)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Sun traversing six rāśis by night and six by day in the Vishnu Purana?

It presents a Purāṇic model of cosmic timekeeping: day and night are explained through the Sun’s ordered passage across zodiacal divisions, emphasizing a structured, law-bound universe.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic order in this context?

By describing the Sun’s regulated movement through the rāśis, Parāśara frames astronomical motion as predictable and rule-governed—an expression of the cosmos functioning through an overarching, sustaining principle.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Even when not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s cosmology implies that such regularity in time and celestial motion rests upon Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty as the ground of order and the controller of kāla.