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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.11.14
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 14
- saṁvatsaraḥ parivatsara
- iḍā-vatsara eva ca
- anuvatsaro vatsaraś ca
- viduraivaṁ prabhāṣyate
saṁvatsaraḥorbit of the sun — orbit of the sun; parivatsaraḥcircumambulation of Bṛhaspati — circumambulation of Bṛhaspati; iḍāorbit of the stars-vatsaraḥorbit of the stars — orbit of the stars; evaas they are — as they are; caalso — also; anuvatsaraḥorbit of the moon — orbit of the moon; vatsaraḥone calendar year — one calendar year; caalso — also; viduraO Vidura — O Vidura; evamthus — thus; prabhāṣyatethey are so told — they are so told.
There are five different names for the orbits of the sun, moon, stars and luminaries in the firmament, and they each have their own saṁvatsara.
The subject matters of physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, time and space dealt with in the above verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are certainly very interesting to students of the particular subject, but as far as we are concerned, we cannot explain them very thoroughly in terms of technical knowledge. The subject is summarized by the statement that above all the different branches of knowledge is the supreme control of kāla, the plenary representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nothing exists without Him, and therefore everything, however wonderful it may appear to our meager knowledge, is but the work of the magical wand of the Supreme Lord. As far as time is concerned, we beg to subjoin herewith a table of timings in terms of the modern clock.
| One truṭi | - | 8/13,500 | second |
| One vedha | - | 8/135 | second |
| One lava | - | 8/45 | second |
| One nimeṣa | - | 8/15 | second |
| One kṣaṇa | - | 8/5 | second |
| One kāṣṭhā | - | 8 | seconds |
| One laghu | - | 2 | minutes |
| One daṇḍa | - | 30 | minutes |
| One prahara | - | 3 | hours |
| One day | - | 12 | hours |
| One night | - | 12 | hours |
| One pakṣa | - | 15 | days |
Two pakṣas comprise one month, and twelve months comprise one calendar year, or one full orbit of the sun. A human being is expected to live up to one hundred years. That is the way of the controlling measure of eternal time.
The Brahma-saṁhitā (BS 5.38) affirms this control in this way:
- yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ
- rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ
- yasyājñayā bhramati saṁbhṛta-kāla-cakro
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, under whose control even the sun, which is considered to be the eye of the Lord, rotates within the fixed orbit of eternal time. The sun is the king of all planetary systems and has unlimited potency in heat and light."