Shloka 7

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

Devanagari script

हयाश् च सप्त छन्दांसि तेषां नामानि मे शृणु गायत्री च बृहत्य् उष्णिग् जगती त्रिष्टुब् एव च अनुष्टुप् पङ्क्तिर् इत्य् उक्ताश् छन्दांसि हरयो रवेः

Transliteration

hayāś ca sapta chandāṃsi teṣāṃ nāmāni me śṛṇu gāyatrī ca bṛhaty uṣṇig jagatī triṣṭub eva ca anuṣṭup paṅktir ity uktāś chandāṃsi harayo raveḥ

Translation

The horses are seven—indeed, they are the seven Vedic metres. Hear their names from me: Gāyatrī, Bṛhatī, Uṣṇik, Jagatī, Triṣṭubh, Anuṣṭubh, and Paṅkti. These metres are declared to be the steeds of Ravi, the Sun.

Word by Word

• hayāḥ: horses
• hayāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Viśeṣaṇa (Numeral qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-विशेषण; (here) प्रथमा बहुवचनार्थे

• chandāṃsi: meters (chandas)
• chandāṃsi: Apposition/Predicate noun
• Type: Noun
• Root: chandas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• nāmāni: names
• nāmāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन

• me: my/to me
• me: Sambandha (Genitive: of me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śṛṇu: hear/listen
• śṛṇu: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• gāyatrī: Gāyatrī (meter)
• gāyatrī: Enumeration item
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyatrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• bṛhatī: Bṛhatī (meter)
• bṛhatī: Enumeration item
• Type: Noun
• Root: bṛhatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uṣṇik: Uṣṇik (meter)
• uṣṇik: Enumeration item
• Type: Noun
• Root: uṣṇik (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jagatī: Jagatī (meter)
• jagatī: Enumeration item
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• triṣṭup: Triṣṭubh (meter)
• triṣṭup: Enumeration item
• Type: Noun
• Root: triṣṭup (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic/limiting particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• anuṣṭup: Anuṣṭubh (meter)
• anuṣṭup: Enumeration item
• Type: Noun
• Root: anuṣṭup (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• paṅktiḥ: Paṅkti (meter)
• paṅktiḥ: Enumeration item
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṅkti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Quotation marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• uktāḥ: are said/called
• uktāḥ: Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √vac (धातु) → ukta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (said/called)

• chandāṃsi: meters
• chandāṃsi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chandas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• harayaḥ: the tawny ones (horses)
• harayaḥ: Apposition (to hayāḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• raveḥ: of the Sun
• raveḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Cosmic astronomy: the constitution of Sūrya’s chariot and its seven horses identified with Vedic metres.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic movement is harmonized with Vedic chandas, implying that ṛta (order) is fundamentally liturgical and sacred.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Use mantra and regulated recitation (japa/chanting) to align personal life-rhythm with dharmic order.

Vishishtadvaita: Vedic sound (chandas) functions within the Lord’s cosmic administration, supporting a world that is real, meaningful, and oriented to worship.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Ravi (Surya)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Sun’s seven horses being identified with Vedic metres in the Vishnu Purana?

It presents the Sun’s motion as governed by sacred rhythm: the chandas (metres) symbolize ordered cadence, implying that cosmic time and light proceed according to a divinely structured pattern.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the relationship between sacred sound and cosmic function here?

By equating Surya’s horses with chandas, Parāśara frames mantra-metre as a cosmic principle—speech-patterns are not merely poetic forms but correspondences that uphold the universe’s regularity.

What is the theological importance of this verse in a Vaishnava cosmological reading?

Surya’s ordered course points to a higher sovereignty behind cosmic law; in Vaishnava thought, such order ultimately rests in the Supreme Reality who sustains all functions of time, light, and dharma.