Shloka 18
Measurements of the Sun’s Chariot, the Wheel of Time, and the Retinues of the Solar Months; Chariots of Soma and the Grahas
त्वष्टाथ जमदग्निश्च कम्बलो ऽथ तिलोत्तमा / ब्रह्मापेतो ऽथ ऋतजिद्धृतराष्ट्रश्च सप्तमः / माघमासे वसन्त्येते सप्त भास्करमण्डले
tvaṣṭātha jamadagniśca kambalo 'tha tilottamā / brahmāpeto 'tha ṛtajiddhṛtarāṣṭraśca saptamaḥ / māghamāse vasantyete sapta bhāskaramaṇḍale
മാഘ മാസത്തിൽ ഭാസ്കരമണ്ഡലത്തിനുള്ളിൽ ഈ ഏഴുപേർ വസിക്കുന്നു—ത്വഷ്ടാ, ജമദഗ്നി, കംബല, തിലോത്തമാ, ബ്രഹ്മാപേത, ഋതജിത്, ഏഴാമൻ ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രൻ.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda)
Concept: Devotional remembrance through sacred names connected to time; month as a doorway to worship.
Vedantic Theme: Upāsanā on a visible deity (Sūrya) as a support leading the mind toward the Supreme regulator (Viṣṇu/Īśvara).
Application: In Māgha, intensify sunrise worship, japa, and charity; use month-based sankalpa to stabilize devotion.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: celestial sphere
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.58 (solar-month residents; culminates in sages praising Sūrya by Viṣṇu-śakti)
FAQs
This verse highlights Māgha as a distinct solar period in which specific seven beings are said to reside in the Sun’s sphere, indicating Māgha’s ritual and cosmological significance in Purāṇic timekeeping.
Indirectly: it situates the teaching within a broader Purāṇic cosmology where cosmic spheres (like the Sun-orb) and their presiding beings structure sacred time—background knowledge often used to time rites connected to dharma and post-death observances.
Use Māgha as a dedicated period for disciplined dharma—such as sunrise prayers, charity, and purification practices—aligning personal observance with sacred time described in the Purāṇic worldview.