Shloka 10

सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्

Devanagari script

काष्ठां गतो दक्षिणतः क्षिप्तेषुर् इव सर्पति मैत्रेय भगवान् भानुर् ज्योतिषां चक्रसंयुतः

Transliteration

kāṣṭhāṃ gato dakṣiṇataḥ kṣipteṣur iva sarpati maitreya bhagavān bhānur jyotiṣāṃ cakrasaṃyutaḥ

Translation

О Майтрейя, когда Бхагаван Бхану (Солнце) достигает южного предела, он словно скользит, как выпущенная стрела, неся с собой вращающееся колесо светил.

Word by Word

• kāṣṭhām: to the quarter/direction
• kāṣṭhām: Karma (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• gataḥ: gone/moving
• gataḥ: Predicate adjective (state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (gone)

• dakṣiṇataḥ: southwards
• dakṣiṇataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Directional)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: दिक्-प्रवृत्त्यर्थक अव्यय (ablatival adverb: southwards/from the south)

• kṣipta-iṣuḥ: a shot arrow
• kṣipta-iṣuḥ: Upamāna (Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣipta (कृदन्त, क्त; √kṣip) + iṣu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (kṣiptaḥ iṣuḥ = a shot arrow)

• iva: like
• iva: Upamā (Simile marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• sarpati: moves/glides
• sarpati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sṛp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• maitreya: O Maitreya
• maitreya: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maitreya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• bhagavān: the blessed lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhānuḥ: the Sun
• bhānuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jyotiṣām: of the luminaries
• jyotiṣām: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyotis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• cakra-saṃyutaḥ: endowed with a wheel/disc
• cakra-saṃyutaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (कृदन्त, क्त; sam-√yuj)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तृतीया/सह-भावार्थे तत्पुरुषः (cakreṇa saṃyutaḥ / cakra-saṃyutaḥ = joined with a wheel/disc)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

• Surya (Bhanu)
• Maitreya
• Jyotisha (luminaries/planets)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Sun’s “southern turning-point” in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks a key transition in the Sun’s annual course used to explain seasons and the regulated flow of time; the verse highlights that cosmic time is upheld through ordered celestial motion.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Sun’s motion here?

He uses a vivid simile—like an arrow that has been shot—to convey the Sun’s smooth, continuous advance, while also portraying the Sun as bearing the ‘wheel’ of the luminaries in an ordered circuit.

What is the theological importance of this description in Vaishnava cosmology?

By presenting the heavens as a disciplined, wheel-like order, the text implies a governing intelligence behind cosmic regularity—an order ultimately grounded in the Supreme Lord’s sovereignty as taught throughout the Vishnu Purana.