SB 5.22.1 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

राजोवाच यदेतद्भ‍गवत आदित्यस्य मेरुं ध्रुवं च प्रदक्षिणेन परिक्रामतो राशीनामभिमुखं प्रचलितं चाप्रदक्षिणं भगवतोपवर्णितममुष्य वयं कथमनुमिमीमहीति ॥ १ ॥

Verse text

rājovāca yad etad bhagavata ādityasya meruṁ dhruvaṁ ca pradakṣiṇena parikrāmato rāśīnām abhimukhaṁ pracalitaṁ cāpradakṣiṇaṁ bhagavatopavarṇitam amuṣya vayaṁ katham anumimīmahīti.

Synonyms

rājā uvāca — the King (Mahārāja Parīkṣit) inquired ; yat — which ; etat — this ; bhagavataḥ — of the most powerful ; ādityasya — of the sun (Sūrya Nārāyaṇa) ; merum — the mountain known as Sumeru ; dhruvam ca — as well as the planet known as Dhruvaloka ; pradakṣiṇena — by placing on the right ; parikrāmataḥ — which is going around ; rāśīnām — the different signs of the zodiac ; abhimukham — facing toward ; pracalitam — moving ; ca — and ; apradakṣiṇam — placing on the left ; bhagavatā — by Your Lordship ; upavarṇitam — described ; amuṣya — of that ; vayam — we (the hearer) ; katham — how ; anumimīmahi — can accept it by argument and inference ; iti — thus .

Translation

King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: My dear lord, you have already affirmed the truth that the supremely powerful sun-god travels around Dhruvaloka with both Dhruvaloka and Mount Sumeru on his right. Yet at the same time the sun-god faces the signs of the zodiac and keeps Sumeru and Dhruvaloka on his left. How can we reasonably accept that the sun-god proceeds with Sumeru and Dhruvaloka on both his left and right simultaneously?

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

King Parīkṣit said: My dear lord, you have already affirmed the truth that the supremely powerful sun-god travels around Dhruvaloka with both Dhruvaloka and Mount Sumeru on his right. Yet at the same time the sun-god faces the signs of the zodiac and keeps Sumeru and Dhruvaloka on his left. How can we accept that the sun-god proceeds with Sumeru and Dhruvaloka on both his left and right simultaneously? The Twenty-second Chapter describes the various speed of the sun in the zodiac, the placement of various planets and their auspicious and inauspicious effects. In the previous chapter (SB 5.21.8) it was mentioned that the Sun travels with its left side Meru facing the zodiac and also travels with its right side to Meru. Parīkṣit asks for clarification. Daily the sun appears to be moving in a clockwise direction. However you have said that, facing the constellations, the sun goes counterclockwise. How can this b e conceived, since it is contradictory?