Shloka 6
Uttarā-diśā Māhātmya — Suparṇa’s Praise of the Northern Quarter
Suparṇa–Gālava Saṃvāda
ब्रह्मन्! पूर्वकालमें वायुदेवने अपने महान् वेगसे यहाँ युद्धमें दैत्योंको पराड्मुख, आबद्ध और पीड़ित किया था, जिससे वे लंबी साँस छोड़ते हुए धराशायी हो गये थे ।। अत्र सूर्य प्रणयिनं प्रतिगृह्नाति पर्वत: । अस्तो नाम यतः संध्या पश्चिमा प्रतिसर्पति,इसी दिशामें अस्ताचल है, जो अपने प्रीतिपात्र सूर्यदेवको प्रतिदिन ग्रहण करता है। यहींसे पश्चिम संध्याका प्रसार होता है
yūparṇa uvāca |
brāhman! pūrvakāle vāyudevena svamahān-vegena iha yuddhe daityāḥ parāṅmukhāḥ kṛtāḥ, ābaddhāḥ pīḍitāś ca; tataḥ te dīrghaṃ niḥśvasantaḥ dharāśāyino 'bhavan ||
atra sūrya-praṇayinaṃ pratigṛhṇāti parvataḥ |
asto nāma yataḥ sandhyā paścimā pratisarpati ||
Yūparṇa disse: “Ó brâmane! Em tempos antigos, o deus do Vento, com seu grande ímpeto, pôs em fuga aqui, na batalha, os Dāityas—amarrando-os e esmagando-os—de modo que, soltando longos suspiros, tombaram por terra. Nesta mesma direção ergue-se o monte chamado Asta (o ‘Monte do Poente’), que diariamente recebe o Sol, seu amado; daqui se derrama o crepúsculo do ocidente.”
युपर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes martial power and cosmic order: divine force (Vāyu) can decisively humble arrogant powers (the Dāityas), while the daily setting of the Sun at Asta symbolizes a stable, lawful rhythm in the universe—suggesting that might operates within an overarching order.
Yūparṇa addresses a Brahmin and points to a direction associated with earlier divine combat where Vāyu routed the Dāityas. He then identifies that same western direction as the place of Astācala, the mythic mountain that ‘receives’ the Sun each day, from which evening twilight spreads.