Shloka 74
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
दक्षिणं चोत्तरं चैव मध्यं वैषुवतं तथा शरद्वसन्तयोर् मध्ये तद् भानुः प्रतिपद्यते मेषादौ च तुलादौ च मैत्रेय विषुवत्स्थितः
dakṣiṇaṃ cottaraṃ caiva madhyaṃ vaiṣuvataṃ tathā śaradvasantayor madhye tad bhānuḥ pratipadyate meṣādau ca tulādau ca maitreya viṣuvatsthitaḥ
O Maitreya, the Sun takes the southern course and the northern course, and also the middle station known as the equinoctial. Between autumn and spring he attains that equinoctial balance; and at the beginnings of Meṣa (Aries) and Tulā (Libra) he is established in the state of equinox.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Solar motion (uttarāyaṇa/dakṣiṇāyana) and the equinoctial station at Meṣa and Tulā.
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: instructive
Concept: Seasonal order is governed by the Sun’s southern and northern courses, with equinoxes marking a balanced middle station at Aries and Libra.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Align practice with seasonal rhythms (e.g., equinox reflection, vrata discipline), using cosmic balance as a model for inner balance.
Vishishtadvaita: The orderly movement of the Sun reflects a purposeful cosmos under divine governance, compatible with a real world functioning as the Lord’s body (śarīra).
FAQs
This verse presents viṣuvat as the Sun’s “middle” station—an equilibrium that regulates seasonal transitions and the balance of day and night, anchoring sacred time-reckoning.
He describes three modes of the Sun’s course—southern, northern, and the equinoctial middle—stating that the equinox is reached between autumn and spring and specifically at the beginnings of Meṣa and Tulā.
By depicting the Sun’s orderly motion and seasonal balance as a fixed cosmic law, the Purāṇic worldview implies an overarching sovereignty of the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—as the sustaining principle behind cosmic rhythm and dharma.