Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 4.39
॥
Devanāgarī
विश्वोदराभिधायास्तु भगवान्पावकः पतिः । इडायां चन्द्रमा नित्यं चरत्येव महामुने
Transliteration (IAST)
viśvodarābhidhāyāstu bhagavānpāvakaḥ patiḥ | iḍāyāṃ candramā nityaṃ caratyeva mahāmune
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
विश्वोदरा-अभिधायाः तुviśvodarā-abhidhāyāḥ tuof the one named vishvodara, however
भगवान् पावकः पतिःbhagavān pāvakaḥ patiḥthe lord Pavaka is the master
इडायां चन्द्रमाः नित्यंiḍāyāṃ candramāḥ nityaṃin ida, the moon always
चरति एव महा-मुनेcarati eva mahā-munetruly moves, O great sage
Translation
"Of the one named vishvodara, the lord Pavaka is the master; in ida, however, the moon always moves, O great sage."
Version
8766ddc5a5f2 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Pavaka, "the purifier," is a name of fire; and the chart of deities ends with what the whole khanda began with — fire in the middle of the body. The second half of the line turns the discourse toward the purpose of the whole chart: idayam chandrama nityam charati, "in ida the moon always moves." That is, from here on the discourse is no longer of who governs what, but of movement: the moon travels on the left, the sun on the right, and everything that follows will be built on this.
Worth noting is how consistently this correspondence is carried through. Within the body there is a moon and a sun; hence there is also a month, half-years, and eclipses — and all of this the book is about to list. The transposition of the calendar into the human being is, in my view, the most curious point in the whole khanda, and it is worth saying in advance how to take it.
It should be taken as a language. People who long observed themselves discovered within themselves an alternation of states — now active, now restful — and described it in the only language they had at hand: the language of the sky, by which they were accustomed to reckon time. This language is convenient and beautiful; but conclusions cannot be drawn from it, and this has already been said.
The Vaishnava side does not transpose the calendar outward and does not bring it inward; but it observes seasons, and explains this simply. Ekadashi, Kartika, the days of appearance are appointed times, on which a community does something together; and their value lies not in properties of the day, but in the fact that on that day people gather.