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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 5.21.8-9

Who is speaking and story frame

तत्रत्यानां दिवसमध्यङ्गत एव सदाऽऽदित्यस्तपति सव्येनाचलं दक्षिणेन करोति ॥ ८ ॥ यत्रोदेति तस्य ह समानसूत्रनिपाते निम्‍लोचति यत्र क्‍वचन स्यन्देनाभितपति तस्य हैष समानसूत्रनिपाते प्रस्वापयति तत्र गतं न पश्यन्ति ये तं समनुपश्येरन् ॥ ९ ॥

tatratyānāṁ divasa-madhyaṅgata eva sadādityas tapati savyenācalaṁ dakṣiṇena karoti; yatrodeti tasya ha samāna-sūtra-nipāte nimlocati yatra kvacana syandenābhitapati tasya haiṣa samāna-sūtra-nipāte prasvāpayati tatra gataṁ na paśyanti ye taṁ samanupaśyeran.

Translation

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.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Different Places Experience Different Solar Conditions

  1. 1

    The inhabitants of Sumeru Mountain are always very warm, as at midday, because the sun is always overhead for them.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    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.

How it feels

Smallness → Awe and reverence. A vast cosmos changes the reader's perspective.

Chapters 15–25 of Canto 5: The cosmic regions and divine worship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 21: The Movements of the Sun

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Similarly, the people residing diametrically opposite the point where it is midday will be experiencing midnight. The sun rises and sets with all the other planets, headed by the moon and other luminaries.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.21
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tatratyānāmfor the living entities residing on Mount Meru
  2. divasa-madhyaṅgataḥbeing positioned as at midday
  3. evaindeed
  4. sadāalways
  5. ādityaḥthe sun
  6. tapatiheats
  7. savyenato the left side
  8. acalamSumeru Mountain
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this description remind me that the sun is not seen in the same condition everywhere?

Practice

Draw two pairs of opposite points, labeling one pair sunrise and sunset and the other midday and midnight.

Live this todayDifferent Places Experience Different Solar ConditionsThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 5.21.8-9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.