The Orbit of the Sun, the Measure of Day and Night, and the Sun-God’s Chariot
यदा वृश्चिकादिषु पञ्चसु वर्तते तदाहोरात्राणि विपर्ययाणि भवन्ति ॥ ५ ॥
yadā vṛścikādiṣu pañcasu vartate tadāho-rātrāṇi viparyayāṇi bhavanti.
جب سورج وِرشچِک (عقرب) وغیرہ پانچ بروج میں ہوتا ہے تو دن اور رات کی کیفیت الٹ جاتی ہے—دن گھٹتے ہیں اور راتیں بڑھتی ہیں؛ پھر رفتہ رفتہ دوبارہ برابری آتی ہے۔
In 5.21.5, Śukadeva explains that when the sun moves through five zodiacal signs beginning with Scorpio, the relative lengths of day and night become reversed—shifting in opposing ways depending on location and season.
He is teaching Parīkṣit Mahārāja the Bhagavatam’s cosmology—how time, seasons, and celestial movements are arranged under the Lord’s governance, helping the listener see divine order behind material phenomena.
It encourages a devotional worldview: observing natural cycles (time, seasons) as regulated order rather than randomness, fostering humility and remembrance of the Supreme Controller behind cosmic rhythms.