Shloka 16

सूर्यरथः, सप्तगणाः, मासाधिकारिणः

The Sun’s Chariot and the Sevenfold Monthly Governors

Devanagari script

त्वष्टा च जमदग्निश् च कम्बलो ऽथ तिलोत्तमा ब्रह्मापेतो ऽथ ऋतजिद् धृतराष्ट्रश् च सप्तमः

Transliteration

tvaṣṭā ca jamadagniś ca kambalo 'tha tilottamā brahmāpeto 'tha ṛtajid dhṛtarāṣṭraś ca saptamaḥ

Translation

随后是工巧神特瓦什特里与阇摩达格尼；又有甘婆罗与天女提洛多摩；继而婆罗摩阿佩多与利多吉特；第七为持国——如是依次列举。

Word by Word

• त्वष्टा: Tvaṣṭṛ (a deity/name)
• त्वष्टा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वष्टृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• जमदग्निः: Jamadagni
• जमदग्निः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जमदग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• कम्बलः: Kambala (name)
• कम्बलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कम्बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अथ: then/next
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक/क्रमसूचक अव्यय (then/next)

• तिलोत्तमा: Tilottamā (apsaras/name)
• तिलोत्तमा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिलोत्तमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मापेतः: Brahmāpeta (name/‘departed from Brahman’)
• ब्रह्मापेतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + अपेत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अपेत (क्त/PPP from √इ ‘to go’ with apa-), ‘gone away from Brahman’

• अथ: then/next
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक/क्रमसूचक अव्यय (then/next)

• ऋतजित्: Ṛtajit (name; ‘conqueror of ṛta’)
• ऋतजित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋत + जित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘ṛta’ + ‘jit’ (conqueror)

• धृतराष्ट्रः: Dhṛtarāṣṭra (name)
• धृतराष्ट्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृत + राष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• सप्तमः: the seventh
• सप्तमः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (ordinal)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Solar retinue: the enumerated sevenfold attendants stationed in the Sun for a given month

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Characters & Entities

• Tvaṣṭṛ
• Jamadagni
• Kambala
• Tilottamā
• Brahmāpeta
• Ṛtajit
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

FAQs

What is the significance of listing figures like Tvaṣṭṛ and Jamadagni in the Vishnu Purana?

The verse functions as a genealogical/cosmological register: by naming divine artisans, sages, and celestial beings, the Purana maps creation as an ordered emanation under a single governing principle of dharma.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic order through such enumerations?

Parāśara presents creation and history as structured successions—names are not random, but markers of roles (artisan, rishi, apsaras, etc.) that together sustain the universe’s functioning across cycles.

What is Lord Vishnu’s theological importance in this context of genealogy?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames these lineages as unfolding within Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty—creation is intelligible because it proceeds from an ultimate, sustaining Reality.