Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.21.8-9
Sthāna· The universe in orderDifferent Places Experience Different Solar Conditions
“The living entities residing on Sumeru Mountain are always very warm, as at midday, because for them the sun is always overhead. Although the sun moves counterclockwise, facing the constellations, with Sumeru Mountain on its left, it also moves clockwise and appears to have the mountain on its right because it is influenced by the dakṣiṇāvarta wind. People living in countries at points diametrically opposite to where the sun is first seen rising will see the sun setting, and if a straight line were drawn from a point where the sun is at midday, the people in countries at the opposite end of the line would be experiencing midnight. Similarly, if people residing where the sun is setting were to go to countries diametrically opposite, they would not see the sun in the same condition.”
What the purport teaches
- The inhabitants of Sumeru Mountain are always very warm, as at midday, because the sun is always overhead for them.
- The sun moves counterclockwise with Sumeru Mountain on its left. Influenced by the dakṣiṇāvarta wind, it also moves clockwise and appears to have the mountain on its right.
- At diametrically opposite places, sunrise corresponds to sunset, and midday corresponds to midnight. People traveling to an opposite location would not see the sun in the same condition.
Try this today
Draw two pairs of opposite points, labeling one pair sunrise and sunset and the other midday and midnight.
Ask yourself
How does this description remind me that the sun is not seen in the same condition everywhere?
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.