Devanagari
तत उपरिष्टात्द्वि्लक्षयोजनतो नक्षत्राणि मेरुं दक्षिणेनैव कालायन ईश्वरयोजितानि सहाभिजिताष्टाविंशति: ॥ ११ ॥
Verse text
tata upariṣṭād dvi-lakṣa-yojanato nakṣatrāṇi meruṁ dakṣiṇenaiva kālāyana īśvara-yojitāni sahābhijitāṣṭā-viṁśatiḥ.
Synonyms
tataḥ
—
from that region of the moon
;
upariṣṭāt
—
above
;
dvi
—
lakṣa — yojanataḥ — 200,000 yojanas
;
nakṣatrāṇi
—
many stars
;
merum
—
Sumeru Mountain
;
dakṣiṇena eva
—
to the right side
;
kāla
—
ayane — in the wheel of time
;
īśvara
—
yojitāni — attached by the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
saha
—
with
;
abhijitā
—
the star known as Abhijit
;
aṣṭā
—
viṁśatiḥ — twenty-eight .
Translation
There are many stars located 200,000 yojanas [1,600,000 miles] above the moon. By the supreme will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are fixed to the wheel of time, and thus they rotate with Mount Sumeru on their right, their motion being different from that of the sun. There are twenty-eight important stars, headed by Abhijit.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Above the moon at a distance of 300,000 yojanas, inspired by the Lord, the constellations, twenty-eight in number with Abhijit, move clockwise around Meru n the wheel of time.
The constellations will be 500,000 yojanas above the earth. [Note: It appears there is discrepancy in some versions, but Viśvanātha says three lakṣa above the moon means five lakṣas above the earth. This figure will give the correct dimensions for the total size of the universe.] They do not have a different motion, but move clockwise also. Kālāyane means in the wheel of time. Śruti says abhijin nāma-nakṣātram upariṣṭād āṣāḍhānām adhastāc chroṇāyāḥ: Abhjit constellation is composed of the last part of Āṣāḍhā and the first part of Śravaṇā constellations. The astronomical works also confirm this: Abhijit is the last part of Āṣādḥa and the first part of Śravaṇā, consisting of four daṇḍas.
Purport
The stars referred to herein are 1,600,000 miles above the sun, and thus they are 4,000,000 miles above the earth.