Text 4]
The Orbits of the Planets
341
Himself;  trayī-mayam —consisting of the three  Vedas  ( Sāma ,  Yajur  and  Rg );  karma-viśuddhi —of purification of fruitive activities;  nimittam —the cause;  kavibhiḥ —by great saintly persons;  api —also;  ca —and;  vedena —by Vedic knowledge;  vijyñāsyamānaḥ —being inquired about;  dvādaśa-dhā —in twelve divisions;  vibhajya —dividing;  ṣaṭsu —in six;  vasanta-ādiṣu —headed by spring;  ṛtuṣu —seasons;  yathā-upajoṣam —according to the enjoyment of their past activities;  ṛtu-guṇān —the qualities of the different seasons;  vidadhāti —he arranges.
TRANSLATION
The original cause of the cosmic manifestation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,  Nārāyaṇa . When great saintly persons, fully aware of the Vedic knowledge, offered prayers to the Supreme Person, He descended to this material world in the form of the sun to benefit all the planets and purify fruitive activities. He divided Himself into twelve parts and created seasonal forms, beginning with spring. In this way He created the seasonal qualities, such as heat, cold and so on.
TEXT 4
तमेतमिह पुरुषास्त्रय्या विद्यया वर्णाश्रमाचारानुपथा उच्चावचैः कर्मभिराम्नातै- र्योगवितानैश्च श्रद्धया यजन्तोऽञ्जसा श्रेयः समधिगच्छन्ति ॥ ४ ॥
tam etam iha puruṣās trayyā vidyayā varṇāśramācārānupathā uccāvacaiḥ karmabhir āmnātair yoga-vitānaiś ca śraddhayā yajanto 'ñjasā śreyaḥ samadhigacchanti.
tam —Him (the Supreme Personality of Godhead);  etam —this;  iha —in this world of mortality;  puruṣāḥ —all people;  trayyā —having three divisions;  vidyayā —by the Vedic knowledge;  varṇa-āśrama-ācāra —the practices of the  varṇāśrama  system;  anupathāḥ —following;  ucca-avacaiḥ —higher or lower according to the different positions in the  var-ṇāśrama-dharma  ( brāhmaṇa ,  kṣatriya ,  vaiśya  and  śūdra );  karmabhiḥ —by their respective activities;  āmnātaiḥ —handed down;  yoga-vitānaiḥ —by meditation and other yogic processes;  ca —and;  śrad-