Shloka 30
Arjuna meets the Lokapālas, is tested by Indra, and is led to Amarāvatī for astra-śikṣā
Indraloka-gamana
य॑ं प्राप्प सविता राजन् सत्येन प्रतितिष्ठति । अस्तं पर्वतराजानमेतमाहुर्मनीषिण:,अस्तं प्राप्प तत: संध्यामतिक्रम्प दिवाकर: । उदीचीं भजते काष्ठां दिशमेष विभावसु: “तदनन्तर अस्ताचलको पहुँचकर संध्याकालकी सीमाको लाँघकर ये भगवान् सूर्य उत्तर दिशाका आश्रय लेते हैं। पाण्डुनन्दन! मेरु पर्वतका अनुसरण करके उत्तर दिशाकी सीमातक पहुँचकर ये समस्त प्राणियोंके हितमें तत्पर रहनेवाले भगवान् सूर्य पुनः पूर्वाभिमुख होकर चलते हैं
yaṁ prāpya savitā rājan satyena prati tiṣṭhati | astaṁ parvatarājānam etam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ | astaṁ prāpya tataḥ sandhyām atikramya divākaraḥ | udīcīṁ bhajate kāṣṭhāṁ diśam eṣa vibhāvasuḥ |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O King, having reached that (mountain) where the Sun stands firm by truth, the wise call it ‘Asta’, the king of mountains. Reaching the western setting-point and then passing beyond the boundary of twilight, the Sun—this radiant one—turns to the northern quarter. Thereafter, having come to the western mountain and crossed the limit of evening, the Lord Sun, intent on the welfare of all beings, follows Meru up to the northern extremity and then proceeds again facing east.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links cosmic regularity to satya (truth): the Sun’s unwavering course is portrayed as ‘standing firm by truth,’ suggesting that truthfulness sustains order—both in the universe and in ethical life.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the Sun’s movement: reaching the western ‘Asta’ mountain at sunset, passing beyond evening twilight, turning toward the northern quarter, and (as the prose gloss adds) following Meru and then resuming an east-facing course—an account of the Sun’s nightly/seasonal circuit in sacred geography.