Shloka 22

सूर्यरथ-रचना, ध्रुव-प्रेरणा, मास-गणाः च

Jyotish-chakra: Surya’s Motion and Monthly Retinues

Devanagari script

मधुश् च माधवश्चैव शुक्रश् च शुचिरेव च नभोनभस्यौ विप्रेन्द्रा इषश्चोर्जस्तथैव च

Transliteration

madhuś ca mādhavaścaiva śukraś ca śucireva ca nabhonabhasyau viprendrā iṣaścorjastathaiva ca

Translation

اے برہمنوں کے سردار، مدھو اور مادھو؛ اسی طرح شُکر اور شُچی؛ پھر نَبھ اور نَبھسْیَ؛ اور اسی طرح اِش اور اُورج—یوں مقدّس زمانے کے چکر کے مہینے گنے گئے۔

Word by Word

• मधु (Madhu): the month Madhu (Caitra, spring)

• माधव (Mādhava): the month Mādhava (Vaiśākha)

• शुक्र (Śukra): the month Śukra (Jyeṣṭha)

• शुचि (Śuci): the month Śuci (Āṣāḍha)

• नभ (Nabha): the month Nabha (Śrāvaṇa)

• नभस्य (Nabhasya): the month Nabhasya (Bhādrapada)

• विप्रेन्द्र (viprendrāḥ): O best of Brahmins / O foremost among sages

• इष (Iṣa): the month Iṣa (Āśvina)

• ऊर्जस् (Ūrjas): the month Ūrjas (Kārttika)

• च/एव/तथा: and/indeed/likewise

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It sanctifies the calendar by listing the traditional month-names, implying that Shiva-puja, vratas, and Linga-installation rites become most fruitful when performed with awareness of kāla (sacred time), a key support for disciplined devotion.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By framing time itself as a sacred, ordered principle, the verse points to Shiva as Pati—the lord who transcends yet governs kāla; the pashu (bound soul) moves through months under pasha (limitations), and worship aligns the soul to the lordship that liberates.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Time-aligned vrata and puja-niyama: observing monthly disciplines (fasts, offerings, japa, and purity rules) as a Pāśupata-style regimen that steadies the mind and supports Shiva-bhakti.