The Orbits of the Moon and Planets

Verse 1 (devibhagavatam.8.16.1)

श्रीनारायण उवाच । अथातः श्रूयतां चित्रं सोमादीनां गमादिकम् । तद्गत्यनुसृता नॄणां शुभाशुभनिदर्शना

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca | athātaḥ śrūyatāṁ citraṁ somādīnāṁ gamādikam | tadgatyanusṛtā nṝṇāṁ śubhāśubhanidarśanā

Shri Narayana said: Now hear the wondrous motion of the Moon and the other planets; by tracing their courses, the signs of good and bad fortune for humankind are read.

Verse 2 (devibhagavatam.8.16.2)

यथा कुलालचक्रेण भ्रमता भ्रमतां सह । तदाश्रयाणां च गतिरन्या कीटादिनां भवेत्

yathā kulālacakreṇa bhramatā bhramatāṁ saha | tadāśrayāṇāṁ ca gatiranyā kīṭādināṁ bhavet

Just as, when a potter's wheel spins, the insects and other creatures resting upon it move differently from the wheel itself,

Verse 3 (devibhagavatam.8.16.3)

एवं हि राशिवृन्देन कालचक्रेण तेन च । मेरुं धुरं च सरतां प्रादक्षिण्येन सर्वदा

evaṁ hi rāśivṛndena kālacakreṇa tena ca | meruṁ dhuraṁ ca saratāṁ prādakṣiṇyena sarvadā

— just so, with that wheel of time formed of the host of zodiacal signs, ever turning in circumambulation around Meru as its axis,

Verse 4 (devibhagavatam.8.16.4)

ग्रहाणां भानुमुख्यानां गतिरन्यैव दृश्यते । नक्षत्रान्तरगामित्वाद्भान्तरे गमनं तथा

grahāṇāṁ bhānumukhyānāṁ gatiranyaiva dṛśyate | nakṣatrāntaragāmitvādbhāntare gamanaṁ tathā

the motion of the planets, headed by the sun, appears altogether different, since they move from one lunar mansion to another, and likewise travel from star to star.

Verse 5 (devibhagavatam.8.16.5)

गतिद्वयं चाविरुद्धं सर्वत्रैष विनिर्णयः । स एव भगवानादिपुरुषो लोकभावनः

gatidvayaṁ cāviruddhaṁ sarvatraiṣa vinirṇayaḥ | sa eva bhagavānādipuruṣo lokabhāvanaḥ

This twofold motion is not contradictory — this is the settled conclusion everywhere. He alone is the Blessed Primeval Person, the sustainer of the worlds,

Verse 6 (devibhagavatam.8.16.6)

नारायणोऽखिलाधारो लोकानां स्वस्तये भ्रमन् । कर्मशुद्धिनिमित्तं तु आत्मानं वै त्रयीमयम्

nārāyaṇo'khilādhāro lokānāṁ svastaye bhraman | karmaśuddhinimittaṁ tu ātmānaṁ vai trayīmayam

— Narayana, the support of everything, who revolves for the welfare of the worlds; and, for the purifying of people's actions, he fashioned his own self as embodying the threefold Veda,

Verse 7 (devibhagavatam.8.16.7)

कविभिश्चैव वेदेन विजिज्ञास्योऽर्कधाभवत् । षट्सु क्रमेण ऋतुषु वसन्तादिषु च स्वयम्

kavibhiścaiva vedena vijijñāsyo'rkadhābhavat | ṣaṭsu krameṇa ṛtuṣu vasantādiṣu ca svayam

— so as to be known through the wise and through the Veda, he became manifest as the sun. He himself, moving in order through the six seasons beginning with spring,

Verse 8 (devibhagavatam.8.16.8)

यथोपजोषमृतुजान् गुणान् वै विदधाति च । तमेनं पुरुषाः सर्वे त्रय्या च विद्यया सदा

yathopajoṣamṛtujān guṇān vai vidadhāti ca | tamenaṁ puruṣāḥ sarve trayyā ca vidyayā sadā

— bestows the qualities born of each season, to each one's liking. All people, ever through the threefold Vedic knowledge,

Verse 9 (devibhagavatam.8.16.9)

वर्णाश्रमाचारपथा तथाम्नातैश्च कर्मभिः । उच्चावचैः श्रद्धया च योगानां च वितानकैः

varṇāśramācārapathā tathāmnātaiśca karmabhiḥ | uccāvacaiḥ śraddhayā ca yogānāṁ ca vitānakaiḥ

— through the conduct proper to varna and ashrama, through the rites handed down in scripture, high and low, with faith, and through the various disciplines of yoga —

Verse 10 (devibhagavatam.8.16.10)

अञ्जसा च यजन्ते ये श्रेयो विन्दन्ति ते मतम् । अथैष आत्मा लोकानां द्यावाभूम्यन्तरेण च

añjasā ca yajante ye śreyo vindanti te matam | athaiṣa ātmā lokānāṁ dyāvābhūmyantareṇa ca

— those who worship him directly attain the highest good. Now this same Self of the worlds, through the interval between heaven and earth,

Verse 11 (devibhagavatam.8.16.11)

कालचक्रगतो भुङ्क्ते मासान्द्वादशराशिभिः । संवत्सरस्यावयवान्मासः पक्षद्वयं दिवा

kālacakragato bhuṅkte māsāndvādaśarāśibhiḥ | saṁvatsarasyāvayavānmāsaḥ pakṣadvayaṁ divā

— moving through the wheel of time, passes through the months by way of the twelve zodiacal signs. A month is a division of the year; two fortnights make a month; a day,

Verse 12 (devibhagavatam.8.16.12)

नक्तं चेति स पादर्क्षद्वयमित्युपदिश्यते । यावता षष्ठमंशं स भुञ्जीत ऋतुरुच्यते

naktaṁ ceti sa pādarkṣadvayamityupadiśyate | yāvatā ṣaṣṭhamaṁśaṁ sa bhuñjīta ṛturucyate

— and night make a day; and a quarter of a fortnight is taught to equal two nakshatras. As much time as it takes the sun to traverse a sixth part of its yearly course is called a ritu (season),

Verse 13 (devibhagavatam.8.16.13)

संवत्सरस्यावयवः कविभिश्चोपवर्णितः । यावतार्धेन चाकाशवीथ्यां प्रचरते रविः

saṁvatsarasyāvayavaḥ kavibhiścopavarṇitaḥ | yāvatārdhena cākāśavīthyāṁ pracarate raviḥ

— this too has been described by the wise as a further division of the year. The span in which the sun travels half of the sky's pathway,

Verse 14 (devibhagavatam.8.16.14)

तं प्राक्तना वर्णयन्ति अयनं मुनिपूजिताः । अथ यावन्नभोमण्डलं सह प्रतिगच्छति

taṁ prāktanā varṇayanti ayanaṁ munipūjitāḥ | atha yāvannabhomaṇḍalaṁ saha pratigacchati

— that span the ancient sages, honored by munis, call an ayana. And the time it takes the sun to traverse the entire circle of the sky and return to its starting point,

Verse 15 (devibhagavatam.8.16.15)

कार्त्स्न्येन सह भुञ्जीत कालं तं वत्सरं विदुः । संवत्सरं परिवत्सरमिडावत्सरमेव च

kārtsnyena saha bhuñjīta kālaṁ taṁ vatsaraṁ viduḥ | saṁvatsaraṁ parivatsaramiḍāvatsarameva ca

— that entire span of time is known as a vatsara (year). Samvatsara, Parivatsara, Idavatsara,

Verse 16 (devibhagavatam.8.16.16)

अनुवत्सरमिद्वत्सरमिति पञ्चकमीरितम् । भानोर्मान्द्यशैघ्र्यसमगतिभिः कालवित्तमैः

anuvatsaramidvatsaramiti pañcakamīritam | bhānormāndyaśaighryasamagatibhiḥ kālavittamaiḥ

Anuvatsara, and Idvatsara — thus the foremost knowers of time have declared a set of five kinds of years, based on the sun's slow, swift, and even motions.

Verse 17 (devibhagavatam.8.16.17)

एवं भानोर्गतिः प्रोक्ता चन्द्रादीनां निबोधत । एवं चन्द्रोऽर्करश्मिभ्यो लक्षयोजनमूर्ध्वतः

evaṁ bhānorgatiḥ proktā candrādīnāṁ nibodhata | evaṁ candro'rkaraśmibhyo lakṣayojanamūrdhvataḥ

Thus the sun's motion has been described; now hear of the Moon and the other planets. In just the same way, the Moon, one lakh yojanas above the sun's rays,

Verse 18 (devibhagavatam.8.16.18)

उपलभ्यमानो मित्रस्य संवत्सरभुजिं च सः । पक्षाभ्यां चौषधीनाथो भुङ्क्ते मासभुजिं च सः

upalabhyamāno mitrasya saṁvatsarabhujiṁ ca saḥ | pakṣābhyāṁ cauṣadhīnātho bhuṅkte māsabhujiṁ ca saḥ

— is perceived there; and he traverses in the time the sun takes a year, proportionally faster. The Lord of Herbs, the Moon, covers in two fortnights what corresponds to a month's course,

Verse 19 (devibhagavatam.8.16.19)

सपादमाभ्यां दिवसभुक्तिं पक्षभुजिं चरेत् । एवं शीघ्रगतिः सोमो भुङ्क्ते नूनं भचक्रकम्

sapādamābhyāṁ divasabhuktiṁ pakṣabhujiṁ caret | evaṁ śīghragatiḥ somo bhuṅkte nūnaṁ bhacakrakam

— and in a day and a quarter he covers what corresponds to a fortnight's motion, that is, completes a day's course. Thus the swift-moving Moon indeed traverses the whole wheel of the stars,

Verse 20 (devibhagavatam.8.16.20)

पूर्यमाणकलाभिश्चामराणां प्रीतिमावहन् । क्षीयमाणकलाभिश्च पितॄणां चित्तरञ्जकः

pūryamāṇakalābhiścāmarāṇāṁ prītimāvahan | kṣīyamāṇakalābhiśca pitṝṇāṁ cittarañjakaḥ

— bringing delight to the gods through his waxing phases, and gladdening the hearts of the ancestors (Pitris) through his waning phases,

Verse 21 (devibhagavatam.8.16.21)

अहोरात्राणि तन्वानः पूर्वापरसुघस्रकैः । सर्वजीवनिकायस्य प्राणो जीवः स एव हि

ahorātrāṇi tanvānaḥ pūrvāparasughasrakaiḥ | sarvajīvanikāyasya prāṇo jīvaḥ sa eva hi

— extending the days and nights through their eastern and western portions, he indeed is the very breath and life of the whole multitude of living beings.

Verse 22 (devibhagavatam.8.16.22)

भुङ्क्ते चैकैकनक्षत्रं मुहूर्तत्रिंशता विभुः । स एव षोडशकलः पुरुषोऽनादिसत्तमः

bhuṅkte caikaikanakṣatraṁ muhūrtatriṁśatā vibhuḥ | sa eva ṣoḍaśakalaḥ puruṣo'nādisattamaḥ

The mighty Moon traverses each lunar mansion in thirty muhurtas. He alone, the sixteen-digit Person, beginningless and supreme,

Verse 23 (devibhagavatam.8.16.23)

मनोमयोऽप्यन्नमयोऽमृतधामा सुधाकरः । देवपितृमनुष्यादिसरीसृपसवीरुधाम्

manomayo'pyannamayo'mṛtadhāmā sudhākaraḥ | devapitṛmanuṣyādisarīsṛpasavīrudhām

— is composed of mind, and also of food; his abode is nectar, the maker of ambrosia, the Moon. Of gods, ancestors, humans and the rest, reptiles, and plants,

Verse 24 (devibhagavatam.8.16.24)

प्राणाप्यायनशीलत्वात्स सर्वमय उच्यते । ततो भचक्रं भ्रमति योजनानां त्रिलक्षतः

prāṇāpyāyanaśīlatvātsa sarvamaya ucyate | tato bhacakraṁ bhramati yojanānāṁ trilakṣataḥ

— because he nourishes their very life-breath, he is called all-pervading. Then, at three lakh yojanas above the Moon, revolves the wheel of the stars (nakshatras),

Verse 25 (devibhagavatam.8.16.25)

मेरुप्रदक्षिणेनैव योजितं चेश्वरेण तु । अष्टाविंशतिसङ्ख्यानि गणितानि सहाभिजित्

merupradakṣiṇenaiva yojitaṁ ceśvareṇa tu | aṣṭāviṁśatisaṅkhyāni gaṇitāni sahābhijit

— set in motion by the Lord in the very act of Meru's circumambulation; the lunar mansions, twenty-eight in number counting Abhijit, are thus reckoned.

Verse 26 (devibhagavatam.8.16.26)

ततः शुक्रो द्विलक्षेण योजनानामथोपरि । पुरः पश्चात्सहैवासावर्कस्य परिवर्तते

tataḥ śukro dvilakṣeṇa yojanānāmathopari | puraḥ paścātsahaivāsāvarkasya parivartate

Then, two lakh yojanas above that, is Venus (Shukra), who revolves always in the company of the sun — now ahead, now behind,

Verse 27 (devibhagavatam.8.16.27)

शीघ्रमन्दसमानाभिर्गतिभिर्विचरन्विभुः । लोकानामनुकूलोऽयं प्रायः प्रोक्तः शुभावहः

śīghramandasamānābhirgatibhirvicaranvibhuḥ | lokānāmanukūlo'yaṁ prāyaḥ proktaḥ śubhāvahaḥ

— that mighty one, moving with motions swift, slow, and even. He is generally declared favorable to the worlds, bringer of good fortune,

Verse 28 (devibhagavatam.8.16.28)

वृष्टिविष्टम्भशमनो भार्गवः सर्वदा मुने । शुक्राद् बुधः समाख्यातो योजनानां द्विलक्षतः

vṛṣṭiviṣṭambhaśamano bhārgavaḥ sarvadā mune | śukrād budhaḥ samākhyāto yojanānāṁ dvilakṣataḥ

— the son of Bhrigu, who ever quiets the obstacles to rainfall, O sage. Two lakh yojanas above Venus is Mercury (Budha),

Verse 29 (devibhagavatam.8.16.29)

शीघ्रमन्दसमानाभिर्गतिभिः शुक्रवत्सदा । यदार्काद्व्यतिरिच्येत सौम्यः प्रायेण तत्र तु

śīghramandasamānābhirgatibhiḥ śukravatsadā | yadārkādvyatiricyeta saumyaḥ prāyeṇa tatra tu

— moving, like Venus, always with motions swift, slow, and even. When Mercury departs from conjunction with the sun, then generally that gentle planet —

Verse 30 (devibhagavatam.8.16.30)

अतिवाताभ्रपातानां वृष्ट्यादिभयसूचकः । उपरिष्ठात्ततो भौमो योजनानां द्विलक्षतः

ativātābhrapātānāṁ vṛṣṭyādibhayasūcakaḥ | upariṣṭhāttato bhaumo yojanānāṁ dvilakṣataḥ

— becomes an omen of danger from excessive wind, meteor-falls, rain, and the like. Two lakh yojanas above that is Mars (Bhauma),

Verse 31 (devibhagavatam.8.16.31)

पक्षैस्त्रिभिस्त्रिभिः सोऽयं भुङ्क्ते राशीनथैकशः । द्वादशापि च देवर्षे यदि वक्रो न जायते

pakṣaistribhistribhiḥ so'yaṁ bhuṅkte rāśīnathaikaśaḥ | dvādaśāpi ca devarṣe yadi vakro na jāyate

— who traverses each zodiacal sign in three fortnights each — thus all twelve signs, O divine sage, provided he does not turn retrograde;

Verse 32 (devibhagavatam.8.16.32)

प्रायेणाशुभकृत्सोऽयं ग्रहौघानां च सूचकः । नतो द्विलक्षमानेन योजनानां च गीष्पतिः

prāyeṇāśubhakṛtso'yaṁ grahaughānāṁ ca sūcakaḥ | nato dvilakṣamānena yojanānāṁ ca gīṣpatiḥ

— he is generally a bringer of misfortune, and a sign warning of trouble from the host of planets. Two lakh yojanas above that is Brihaspati, Lord of Speech (Jupiter),

Verse 33 (devibhagavatam.8.16.33)

एकैकस्मिन्नथो राशौ भुङ्गे संवत्सरं चरन् । यदि वक्रो भवेन्नैवानुकूलो ब्रह्मवादिनाम्

ekaikasminnatho rāśau bhuṅge saṁvatsaraṁ caran | yadi vakro bhavennaivānukūlo brahmavādinām

— who, moving through each single sign, takes a year to traverse it; should he turn retrograde, he becomes altogether unfavorable to the knowers of Brahman.

Verse 34 (devibhagavatam.8.16.34)

ततः शनैश्चरो घोरो लक्षद्वयपरो मितः । योजनैः सूर्यपुत्रोऽयं त्रिंशन्मासैः परिभ्रमन्

tataḥ śanaiścaro ghoro lakṣadvayaparo mitaḥ | yojanaiḥ sūryaputro'yaṁ triṁśanmāsaiḥ paribhraman

Then, a further two lakh yojanas beyond, is the terrible Saturn (Shanaishchara), son of the Sun, who, taking thirty months to circle,

Verse 35 (devibhagavatam.8.16.35)

एकैकराशौ पर्येति सर्वान् राशीन्महाग्रहः । सर्वेषामशुभो मन्दः प्रोक्तः कालविदां वरैः

ekaikarāśau paryeti sarvān rāśīnmahāgrahaḥ | sarveṣāmaśubho mandaḥ proktaḥ kālavidāṁ varaiḥ

— passing through each sign in turn, this great planet traverses all the zodiacal signs. He, Manda (Saturn, 'the slow one'), is declared by the foremost knowers of time to be inauspicious for all.

Verse 36 (devibhagavatam.8.16.36)

तत उत्तरतः प्रोक्तमेकादशसुलक्षकैः । योजनैः परिसङ्ख्यातं सप्तर्षीणां च मण्डलम्

tata uttarataḥ proktamekādaśasulakṣakaiḥ | yojanaiḥ parisaṅkhyātaṁ saptarṣīṇāṁ ca maṇḍalam

Beyond that, to the north, at a distance reckoned as eleven lakh yojanas, is declared the orbit of the Seven Sages (the Saptarshi, Ursa Major),

Verse 37 (devibhagavatam.8.16.37)

लोकानां शं भावयन्तो मुनयः सप्त ते मुने । यत्तद्विष्णुपदं स्थानं दक्षिणं प्रक्रमन्ति ते

lokānāṁ śaṁ bhāvayanto munayaḥ sapta te mune | yattadviṣṇupadaṁ sthānaṁ dakṣiṇaṁ prakramanti te

— those seven sages, O sage, ever wishing the welfare of the worlds, move southward toward that station which is Vishnu's supreme abode.