Shloka 8

सूर्यरथः, सप्तगणाः, मासाधिकारिणः

The Sun’s Chariot and the Sevenfold Monthly Governors

Devanagari script

वरुणो वसिष्ठो रम्भा सहजन्या हुहू रथः रथचित्रस् तथा शुक्रे वसन्त्य् आषाढसंज्ञिते

Transliteration

varuṇo vasiṣṭho rambhā sahajanyā huhū rathaḥ rathacitras tathā śukre vasanty āṣāḍhasaṃjñite

Translation

ആഷാഢം എന്ന മാസത്തിൽ (വസന്ത ഋതുവിൽ) വരുണനും വസിഷ്ഠനും അധിഷ്ഠാതാക്കളാണ്; രംഭാ അപ്സരസ്, സഹജന്യാ പ്രേരകശക്തി, ഹൂഹൂ ഗന്ധർവൻ, രഥൻ യക്ഷൻ; കൂടാതെ ശുക്രനുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട രഥചിത്രനും അവിടെ വസിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• वरुणः: Varuṇa
• वरुणः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• वसिष्ठः: Vasiṣṭha
• वसिष्ठः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• रम्भा: Rambhā
• रम्भा: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रम्भा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सहजन्या: Sahajanyā
• सहजन्या: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहजन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• हुहू: Huhū
• हुहू: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुहू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• रथः: Ratha
• रथः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• रथचित्रः: Rathacitra
• रथचित्रः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक) + चित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: सम्बन्ध (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: likewise)

• शुक्रे: in Śukra (month)
• शुक्रे: अधिकरण (Locative/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• वसन्ति: dwell
• वसन्ति: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• आषाढ-संज्ञिते: in (the month) called Āṣāḍha
• आषाढ-संज्ञिते: अधिकरण (Locative/Time)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आषाढ (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √ज्ञा)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Month-wise assignment of presiding deities/ṛṣis/gandharvas/yakṣas/nāgas/apsarases in the solar year

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: systematic

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Time’s divisions (months) are upheld by appointed divine and semi-divine powers working in concert with the solar principle.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Use calendrical observances (vratas, dāna, japa) with awareness that time is sacred and ordered, not random.

Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic administration is a mode of the Lord’s immanent governance through empowered beings.

Characters & Entities

• Varuṇa
• Vasiṣṭha
• Rambhā
• Hūhū
• Śukra (Venus)
• Āṣāḍha
• Vasanta (Spring)

FAQs

What is the significance of listing deities and celestial beings for a specific month in the Vishnu Purana?

It presents time as a governed cosmic system—months and seasons operate through appointed divine attendants, reflecting an ordered universe sustained under Vishnu’s overarching sovereignty.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic order through the calendar and the heavens?

By mapping months and seasons to specific presiding beings (deities, sages, Gandharvas, Apsarases, Yakṣas), Parāśara shows that celestial motion and timekeeping are structured, not random—an administered cosmos.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic framework implies these offices and rhythms of time function by Vishnu’s supreme ordinance, reinforcing him as the sustaining ground of cosmic law and continuity.