Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.20.38
Sthāna· The universe in orderCareful Description of Universal Measurements
“Learned scholars who are free from mistakes, illusions and propensities to cheat have thus described the planetary systems and their particular symptoms, measurements and locations. With great deliberation, they have established the truth that the distance between Sumeru and the mountain known as Lokāloka is one fourth of the diameter of the universe — or, in other words, 125,000,000 yojanas [1 billion miles].”
What the purport teaches
- Learned scholars free from mistakes, illusion and cheating have described the planetary systems with careful deliberation. Their descriptions include characteristics, measurements and locations.
- The translation gives the distance between Sumeru and Lokāloka as one fourth of the universe’s diameter: 125,000,000 yojanas, or 1 billion miles.
- The purport preserves Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s exact Sanskrit calculations. It explains that the technical astronomical terms of the Jyotir Veda are difficult to translate into English.
Try this today
Note one measurement from the translation and one difficulty in translation mentioned in the purport.
Ask yourself
How can I study patiently when technical terms are difficult to understand?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.