350 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 22

very auspicious to the inhabitants of the universe; yada —when; arkat—
from the sun; vyatiricyeta—is separated; tadd—at that time; ativata—
of cyclones and other bad effects; abhra—clouds; préya—almost al-
ways; andvrsti-ddi—such as scarcity of rain; bhayam—fearful condi-
tions; dSamsate—expands.

TRANSLATION

Mercury is described to be similar to Venus, in that it moves
sometimes behind the sun, sometimes in front of the sun and
sometimes along with it. It is 1,600,000 miles above Venus, or
7,200,000 miles above earth. Mercury, which is the son of the
moon, is almost always very auspicious for the inhabitants of the
universe, but when it does not move along with the sun, it for-
bodes cyclones, dust, irregular rainfall, and waterless clouds. In
this way it creates fearful conditions due to inadequate or ex-
cessive rainfall.

TEXT 14

4a seaneatst  aiaasatzaa sreraMTara a:
qataael UMeseMsyS Ae a anonf add, narravzet-
SaTaA ZVI

ata iirdhvam aigdarako "pi yojana-laksa-dvitaya upalabhyamdanas
tribhis tribhih paksair ekaikaso rasin dvadasdnubhunkte -yadi na
vakrenabhivartate prayenasubha-graho ‘gha-samsah.

atah—from this; &rdhvam—above; argdarakah—Mars; api—also;
yojana-laksa-dvitaye—at a distance of 1,600,000 miles; upa-
labhyamaénah—is situated; tribhih tribhih—with each three and three;
paksaih—fortnights; eka-ekasah—one after another; ra@sin—the signs;
dvadasa—twelve; anubhunkte—passes through; yadi—if; na—not;
vakrena—with a curve; abhivartate—approaches; prayena—almost al-
ways; asubha-grahah—an unfavorable, inauspicious planet; agha-sam-
sah—creating trouble.

TRANSLATION

Situated 1,600,000 miles above Mercury, or 8,800,000 miles
above earth, is the planet Mars. If this planet does not travel in a

crooked way, it crosses through each sign of the zodiac in three
