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Sri Maitreya spoke. “Lord, tell me now of Bhuvarloka and the worlds that lie above it, and of the planets, their stations and their span.” Parashara answered, “Maitreya, as far as the rays of the sun and the moon reach, that whole expanse, with its oceans and its mountains, is called the earth, or Bhuloka. A hundred thousand yojanas above the earth stands the sphere of the sun; a hundred thousand yojanas above that, the sphere of the moon; and a hundred thousand yojanas higher still, the entire sphere of the stars. Two hundred thousand yojanas above the stars lies Budha (Mercury), and then, at intervals of two hundred thousand yojanas each, come Shukra (Venus), Mangal (Mars), Brihaspati (Jupiter), and Shani (Saturn) in their turn. A hundred thousand yojanas above Shani wheels the sphere of the Seven Sages, and a hundred thousand yojanas higher still stands Dhruva, the pole star, the fixed navel of the entire wheel of the heavens.”
Ten million yojanas above Dhruva lies Maharloka, where the perfected sages such as Bhrigu dwell for the length of an entire kalpa. Twenty million yojanas above that is Janaloka, home to Brahma’s sons Sanandana and the rest. Eighty million yojanas higher rises Tapoloka, where the Vairaja gods live, whom no fire can ever burn. And a hundred and twenty million yojanas above that stands Satyaloka, which is also called Brahmaloka, where the immortals abide who are never again born to die. Bhu, Bhuvah, and Svah are the three fashioned worlds, the ones that perish; Jana, Tapa, and Satya are unfashioned and imperishable; and Maharloka lies between the two. So the seven worlds above and the seven netherworlds below together make up this cosmic egg, the brahmanda, which, like the seed at the heart of a wood-apple, is wrapped in seven sheaths, of water, fire, air, ether, ahamkara, mahat, and pradhana, each one ten times as great as the sheath within it. Countless such eggs drift in that boundless pradhana, and within every one of them it is the self-luminous Purusha, Vishnu himself, who dwells.
The Sun’s Chariot and the Wheel of Time
“Maitreya, the chariot of the sun-god spans nine thousand yojanas, and a single wheel is set upon it. That wheel has three naves, which are the three watches of the day, and six spokes, which are the six seasons; in it the whole wheel of time is bound. The seven horses of the chariot are the seven meters: Gayatri, Brihati, Ushnik, Jagati, Trishtup, Anushtup, and Pankti. One end of its axle rests upon Dhruva and the other upon the mountain Manasottara, and on that Manasottara stand four cities: Indra’s in the east, Yama’s in the south, Varuna’s in the west, and the Moon’s in the north. In truth the sun neither rises nor sets. The land it comes before turns to day, the land it leaves behind turns to night; its rising and its setting are only its coming into sight and its passing out of it.”
At the hour of twilight, dreadful rakshasas named the Mandehas long to swallow the sun; by the curse of Prajapati their bodies can never perish, and yet each day they die anew. When the brahmanas cast out the water they have charged with the syllable Om and the Gayatri, that water turns to a thunderbolt and burns the wretches away; and for this reason the twilight worship must never be let go. Hear now the measure of time. Fifteen nimeshas make one kashtha, thirty kashthas one kala, thirty kalas one muhurta, and thirty muhurtas one day and night. Fifteen days and nights make a fortnight, two fortnights a month, two months a season, three seasons an ayana, and two ayanas a single year. Like a potter’s wheel this circle of the heavens turns, and within it the sun at the rim races while Dhruva, bound at the center, turns slowest of all.
Dhruva, the Lokapalas, and the Ganga
Upon the Lokaloka mountain stand four guardian lords faithful to their vows, one in each direction: Sudhama, Shankhapada, Hiranyaroma, and Ketuman. The road that runs north of Agastya and south of the Nagavithi is called the Pitriyana, the way of the ancestors, and along it the priests who tend the sacred fires and perform the yajnas keep returning. The road north of the Seven Sages is the Devayana, the way of the gods, and along it eighty thousand celibate sages of upraised seed dwell until the dissolution of the world, for they have conquered death. Highest of all is Dhruva, the third divine abode of Lord Vishnu, on which the whole wheel of the heavens rests and from which the rain comes down to nourish every living thing.
From this station of Vishnu, from the very toe of the Lord’s left lotus foot, Sri Ganga springs forth, and Dhruva bears her upon his head both day and night. From there she floods the sphere of the moon, falls upon the summit of Meru, and divides into four streams: Sita, Alakananda, Chakshu, and Bhadra. Of these, Alakananda was held by Lord Shankara upon his head for more than a hundred years, and it was she who washed over the bones of Sagara’s sons and carried them up to heaven. She whose waters wash away every sin in a single bath, and whose name, spoken as “Ganga, Ganga” even from a hundred yojanas away, dissolves the sins of three lifetimes, that Ganga is the third supreme abode of the Lord.
The Shishumara Wheel and the Sun’s Rain
In the sky there is a starry form of Lord Vishnu called the Shishumara, shaped like a gharial, and upon its tail rides Dhruva. Turning of his own accord, Dhruva turns the moon, the sun, and all the planets, and the constellations wheel along with him like the rim of a spinning circle. Every planet and every star is tied to Dhruva by cords of wind; as an oil-presser drives his mill, so are they all driven round, and because this wheel of wind sets them moving it is called Pravaha, the wind that bears. Upon the head of this Shishumara sits Dharma; in its heart is Narayana; and on its tail rest four stars that never set, Agni, Indra, Kashyapa, and Dhruva. The one who looks upon this form by night is freed from the whole day’s sin.
This same sun-god draws up with his rays four kinds of water, from the rivers, the ocean, the earth, and living beings, over eight months, and pours it down again as rain across four; and by this grain the whole world is fed. The support of the sun is Dhruva, the support of Dhruva is the Shishumara, and in the heart of the Shishumara dwells the primeval and eternal Narayana, the sustainer of every living being.
The Twelve Adityas, the Nine Planets, and the Close
“Maitreya, in a single year the sun’s path holds a hundred and eighty circles, and in every month a different Aditya takes his seat upon the chariot: Dhata in Chaitra, Aryama in Vaishakha, Mitra in Jyeshtha, Varuna in Ashadha, Indra in Shravana, Vivasvan in Bhadrapada, Pusha in Ashwina, Parjanya in Kartika, Amsha in Margashirsha, Bhaga in Pausha, Tvashta in Magha, and Vishnu in Phalguna. With each Aditya six companions ride as well, a rishi, a gandharva, an apsara, a yaksha, a serpent, and a rakshasa, seven classes in all upon the chariot; the sages offer their praise, the gandharvas sing, the apsaras dance, and the yakshas hold the reins. In truth the Rik, the Yajus, and the Saman that set the sun ablaze are the Veda-formed power of Lord Vishnu, which, as Brahma in creation, as Vishnu in preservation, and as Rudra in dissolution, dwells forever within the sun.”
Ten white horses, pale as kunda blossoms, are yoked to the chariot of the moon; through the bright fortnight the sun replenishes it, and through the dark fortnight the gods drink down its digits of nectar, until thirty-three thousand, three thousand three hundred, and thirty-three deities have drunk that ambrosia, and the one digit left at the end is taken by the ancestors. Budha’s chariot is built from the substance of wind and fire; Shukra’s is drawn by horses sprung from the earth; Mangal rides a golden car behind horses red as ruby; Brihaspati a golden car behind eight yellow horses; and Shanaishchara a sky-born car behind slow and dappled horses. Rahu’s chariot is yoked with eight horses black as bees, and Ketu’s with eight the color of smoke from burning straw. These nine planets too, bound to Dhruva by cords of wind, go wheeling round.
“Maitreya, in this way I have set out for you the earth and the planets, the islands and the seas, the mountains, the regions, and the rivers, along with all who dwell in them. These stars, the three worlds, the forests and the mountains, the directions, the rivers, and the oceans, all of them are Lord Vishnu himself; and whatever exists, and whatever does not, that too is he alone, for his very nature is knowledge, and so he is all things. When a living soul, cleansed of every fault by knowledge of the self, comes to rest in its own pure being, it sees no separate thing anywhere; one knowledge, pure and spotless and free of sorrow, is the sole truth, and that is the supreme Lord Vasudeva. Through these three worlds the soul wanders in the grip of its karma; knowing this, a person should grow detached from it and do only what will merge him into the unmoving and ever-constant Lord Vasudeva.”
Source: Vishnu Purana (Gita Press, Gorakhpur)