Shloka 3

Devanagari script

सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ तारा नक्षत्राणि ग्रहैः सह वातानीकमयैर् बन्धैर् ध्रुवे बद्धानि तानि वै

Transliteration

sūryācandramasau tārā nakṣatrāṇi grahaiḥ saha vātānīkamayair bandhair dhruve baddhāni tāni vai

Translation

The Sun and Moon, the stars, the constellations, and the planets are bound to Dhruva by bonds formed of the hosts of winds, and thus kept in their ordained courses.

Word by Word

• सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ: the Sun and the Moon
• सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + चन्द्रमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), द्विवचन

• ताराः: stars
• ताराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तारा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• नक्षत्राणि: constellations
• नक्षत्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• ग्रहैः: with the planets
• ग्रहैः: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकारि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahartha marker (सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, सहार्थक (with)

• वातानीकमयैः: made of air-currents
• वातानीकमयैः: Modifier of Instrument (करण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वात (प्रातिपदिक) + अनीक (प्रातिपदिक) + मयट् (तद्धित) → वातानीकमय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (वात-अनीक ‘wind-host/air-current’); तद्धित मयट् ‘made of’; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन; बन्धैः-विशेषण

• बन्धैः: by bonds; by ties
• बन्धैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• ध्रुवे: in/at Dhruva (the Pole Star)
• ध्रुवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• बद्धानि: bound; fastened
• बद्धानि: Predicate adjective (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु) + बद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ/ताराः/नक्षत्राणि-समूहस्य विधेय

• तानि: those (all of them)
• तानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; पुनरुक्त-निर्देश (anaphoric)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निश्चयार्थ/खलु-अर्थ (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The ‘bonds of winds’ (vātānīka-maya bandha) fastening luminaries to Dhruva and maintaining their ordained courses.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Celestial bodies are said to be held to Dhruva by ‘bonds’ made of wind-hosts, symbolizing subtle forces that preserve cosmic regularity.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Reflect that unseen supports uphold visible life; cultivate humility and steadiness, trusting disciplined ‘invisible’ practices (niyama, japa) to stabilize the mind.

Vishishtadvaita: Supports a teleological cosmos: laws/forces function as instruments within the Lord’s governance, aligning natural order with moral-spiritual order.

Characters & Entities

• Surya (Sun)
• Chandra (Moon)
• Nakshatras
• Grahās (planets)
• Dhruva

FAQs

What is the significance of Dhruva in the Vishnu Purana?

Dhruva functions as the fixed cosmic reference-point (the pole), to which the luminaries are described as being tethered, symbolizing stability and divinely maintained order in the heavens.

How does Sage Parāśara explain celestial motion here?

He presents a Purāṇic model where the Sun, Moon, stars, nakṣatras, and planets are held to Dhruva by ‘bonds’ constituted of wind-forces (vātānīka), implying regulated motion rather than randomness.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when not named in the verse, the teaching assumes a sovereign cosmic governance: the ordered courses of the luminaries are sustained by supreme divine ordinance—classically understood in the Vishnu Purana as rooted in Vishnu’s supremacy and maintenance of the universe.