Text 6] The Orbits of the Planets 343

one sixth of his orbit; bhu*ijita—pass; sah—that portion; vai—indeed;
rtuh—a season; iti—thus; upadisyate—is instructed; samvatsara-
avayavah—a part of a year.

TRANSLATION

The sun-god, who is Narayana, or Visnu, the soul of all the
worlds, is situated in outer space between the upper and lower
portions of the universe. Passing through twelve months on the
wheel of time, the sun comes in touch with twelve different signs
of the zodiac and assumes twelve different names according to
those signs. The aggregate of those twelve months is called a sarn-
vatsara, or an entire year. According to lunar calculations, two
fortnights—one of the waxing moon and the other of the
waning—form one month. That same period is one day and night
for the planet Pitrloka. According to stellar calculations, a month
equals two and one quarter constellations. When the sun travels
for two months, a season passes, and therefore the seasonal
changes are considered parts of the body of the year.

TEXT 6
HA Wasa aasteay wala & mawaasqaa i & Il

atha ca ydvatdrdhena nabho-vithyam pracarati tam kdlam ayanam
dcaksate.

atha—now; ca—also; ydvata—by as long as; ardhena—half;
nabhah-vithyam—in outer space; pracarati—the sun moves; tam—
that; kKdlam—time; ayanam—ayana; dcaksate—is said.

TRANSLATION

Thus the time the sun takes to rotate through half of outer space
is called an ayana, or its period of movement [in the north or in the
south].
