Shloka 3
सगरोपाख्यानम् (Sagara-Upākhyāna): Śiva’s boon and the extraordinary birth of Sagara’s progeny
तं तु दृष्टवा तथा विन्ध्य: शैल: सूर्यमथाब्रवीत् । यथा हि मेरुर्भवता नित्यश: परिगम्यते,उन्हें ऐसा करते देख विन्ध्यगिरिने उनसे कहा--'भास्कर! जैसे आप मेरुकी प्रतिदिन परिक्रमा करते हैं, उसी तरह मेरी भी कीजिये।' यह सुनकर भगवान् सूर्यने गिरिराज विन्ध्यसे कहा--'गिरिश्रेष्ठ! मैं अपनी इच्छासे मेरुगिरिकी परिक्रमा नहीं करता हूँ। जिन्होंने इस संसारकी सृष्टि की है, उन विधाताने मेरे लिये यही मार्ग निश्चित किया है"
taṁ tu dṛṣṭvā tathā vindhyaḥ śailaḥ sūryam athābravīt | yathā hi merur bhavatā nityaśaḥ parigamyate, tathā mama api kuru ||
Lomaśa said: Seeing the Sun proceeding in that manner, the Vindhya mountain spoke to him: “O Sun! Just as you daily go around Mount Meru, so too go around me.” The episode frames a moral contrast between personal demand and cosmic order: even a mighty mountain’s prideful request is set against the Sun’s duty to follow the path fixed by the Creator, underscoring that true greatness lies in adherence to ordained law rather than in yielding to vanity or coercion.
लोमश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights that even powerful beings should not act from pride or personal whim; the Sun’s movement symbolizes steadfast adherence to a divinely fixed order (dharma/ṛta), teaching that duty grounded in cosmic law outweighs demands born of ego.
Vindhya, personified as a mountain, addresses the Sun after observing his regular course and requests the same honor the Sun gives to Meru—daily circumambulation—setting up the ensuing reply that the Sun follows an appointed path rather than acting by personal preference.