Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 13
The Orbit of the Sun, the Measure of Day and Night, and the Sun-God’s Chariot
यस्यैकं चक्रं द्वादशारं षण्नेमि त्रिणाभि संवत्सरात्मकं समामनन्ति तस्याक्षो मेरोर्मूर्धनि कृतो मानसोत्तरे कृतेतरभागो यत्र प्रोतं रविरथचक्रं तैलयन्त्रचक्रवद् भ्रमन्मानसोत्तरगिरौ परिभ्रमति ॥ १३ ॥
yasyaikaṁ cakraṁ dvādaśāraṁ ṣaṇ-nemi tri-ṇābhi saṁvatsarātmakaṁ samāmananti tasyākṣo meror mūrdhani kṛto mānasottare kṛtetara-bhāgo yatra protaṁ ravi-ratha-cakraṁ taila-yantra-cakravad bhraman mānasottara-girau paribhramati.
Kereta Dewa Surya hanya memiliki satu roda yang dikenal sebagai Saṁvatsara. Dua belas bulan dihitung sebagai dua belas jari-jarinya, enam musim sebagai bagian-bagian pelek, dan tiga masa cātur-māsya sebagai poros tengah yang terbagi tiga. Salah satu ujung gandar bertumpu di puncak Gunung Sumeru, dan ujung lainnya di Gunung Mānasottara; roda yang terpasang pada ujung luar gandar itu terus berputar di Mānasottara seperti roda alat pemeras minyak।
FAQs
This verse describes the year as a single cosmic wheel with twelve spokes, six rims, and three hubs—an image showing time’s structured, divinely governed cycles.
He uses Meru as the fixed axle-point and Mānasottara as the boundary-support to explain, in Purāṇic cosmology, how the Sun’s chariot-wheel is situated and how the Sun is said to circle in a continuous orbit.
Seeing time as an ordered cycle helps one live with discipline and devotion—aligning daily and yearly routines with remembrance of Bhagavān rather than being driven by anxiety and randomness.