Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.21.15
रथनीडस्तु षट्त्रिंशल्लक्षयोजनायतस्तत्तुरीयभागविशालस्तावान् रविरथयुगो यत्र हयाश्छन्दोनामान: सप्तारुणयोजिता वहन्ति देवमादित्यम् ॥ १५ ॥
ratha-nīḍas tu ṣaṭ-triṁśal-lakṣa-yojanāyatas tat-turīya-bhāga-viśālas tāvān ravi-ratha-yugo yatra hayāś chando-nāmānaḥ saptāruṇa-yojitā vahanti devam ādityam.
[ratha-needas tu shat-trimshal-laksha-yojanaayatas tat-tureeya-bhaaga-vishaalas taavaan ravi-ratha-yugo yatra hayaash chando-naamaanah saptaaruna-yojitaa vahanti devam aadityam.]
Word-for-word
ratha-nīḍaḥ
—
the interior of the chariot
tu
—
but
ṣaṭ-triṁśat-lakṣa-yojana-āyataḥ
—
3,600,000 yojanas long
tat-turīya-bhāga
—
one quarter of that measure (900,000 yojanas)
viśālaḥ
—
having a width
tāvān
—
so much also
ravi-ratha-yugaḥ
—
the yoke for the horses
yatra
—
where
hayāḥ
—
horses
chandaḥ-nāmānaḥ
—
having the different names of Vedic meters
sapta
—
seven
aruṇa-yojitāḥ
—
hooked up by Aruṇadeva
vahanti
—
carry
devam
—
the demigod
ādityam
—
the sun-god.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ratha-nīḍas tu ṣaṭ-triṁśal-lakṣa-yojanāyatas tat-turīya-bhāga-viśālas tāvān ravi-ratha-yugo yatra hayāś chando-nāmānaḥ saptāruṇa-yojitā vahanti devam ādityam.
ratha-nīḍaḥ
the interior of the chariot
tu
but
ṣaṭ-triṁśat-lakṣa-yojana-āyataḥ
3,600,000 yojanas long
tat-turīya-bhāga
one quarter of that measure (900,000 yojanas)
viśālaḥ
having a width
tāvān
so much also
ravi-ratha-yugaḥ
the yoke for the horses
yatra
where
hayāḥ
horses
chandaḥ-nāmānaḥ
having the different names of Vedic meters
sapta
seven
aruṇa-yojitāḥ
hooked up by Aruṇadeva
vahanti
carry
devam
the demigod
ādityam
the sun-god.
My dear King, the carriage of the sun-god’s chariot is estimated to be 3,600,000 yojanas [28,800,000 miles] long and one-fourth as wide [900,000 yojanas, or 7,200,000 miles]. The chariot’s horses, which are named after Gāyatrī and other Vedic meters, are harnessed by Aruṇadeva to a yoke that is also 900,000 yojanas wide. This chariot continuously carries the sun-god.
Purport
In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is stated:
gāyatrī ca bṛhaty uṣṇig jagatī triṣṭup eva ca anuṣṭup paṅktir ity uktāś chandāṁsi harayo raveḥ
The seven horses yoked to the sun-god’s chariot are named Gāyatrī, Bṛhati, Uṣṇik, Jagatī, Triṣṭup, Anuṣṭup and Paṅkti. These names of various Vedic meters designate the seven horses that carry the sun-god’s chariot.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
O King! The carriage of the sun-god's chariot is estimated to be 3,600,000 yojanas long and one-fourth as wide (900,000 yojanas). The chariot's horses, which are named after Gāyatrī and other Vedic meters, are harnessed by Aruṇadeva to a yoke that is also 900,000 yojanas wide. This chariot continuously carries the sun-god.
Niḍāḥ is the enclosure on the chariot. It is 3600,000 yojanas high and 900,000 wide. The sun god is situated in the enclosure at a place 40,000 yojanas above the wheel. It is yoked by Aruṇa and pulled by horses named after the Vedic meters like Gayatrī.
Personal Guidance
Seven horses named after Vedic meters carry the sun-god. The very meters in which scripture is sung are the engine of cosmic motion. Sacred poetry is not decorative — it is the energy by which the world moves.
Reflection Questions
- Have I been treating sacred verse as art when it might actually be cosmic engineering?
- What scripture or song in my life carries me with a horse-like power?
My note
Source: vedabase.io