Seal: MINISTRY OF CULTURE - GOVERNMENT OF INDIA; Ministry of Culture - Government of India
Stamp: SL

The Surya Siddhanta

In the age-cycle known as the Krita Yuga The first and golden age of the world in Hindu cosmology, the word "and" implies the inclusion of the dawn and twilight periods of that age. Therefore, it refers to the specific Krita quarter-age together with its preceding dawn and succeeding twilight. The conclusion is that this does not refer to the mere Krita age as described in other texts. With a small amount of time remaining within that twilight period—meaning, as the intended Krita Yuga was nearing its end—Mayasura performed his penance. The sense is that the fact that Mayasura performed penance just recently relative to the cosmic cycle being discussed is established by the direct evidence known to all people, and does not require the authority of other scriptures.

Now, one might ask: why did Mayasura perform penance? Even a dull-witted person does not act without a purpose. To answer this, the author provides an adjective for Mayasura: Desiring to know. "Knowledge" here refers to the science Shastra: a systematic body of teaching or sacred scripture by which things are known; thus, he performed penance for the sake of gaining scientific knowledge.

What is that science? The author provides a qualification for that knowledge: Of the lights. This refers to the cause of the motion of the planets and stars situated in the region of the Pravaha wind In ancient Indian cosmology, the celestial bodies are moved by a specific cosmic wind called Pravaha. Since roots meaning "to move" also mean "to know," the result is that he was desiring to know the science of light Jyotisha: Astronomy/Astrology, which explains the knowledge of the positions, movements, and measurements of the heavenly bodies.

One might argue that such great effort is not necessary for the knowledge of astronomy, as it is known by all the Sages and is not difficult to grasp. To this, the author says: Entire. This means the complete science of astronomy. The idea is that, thinking with the mind of a Daitya A race of titans or giants; Mayasura was their architect that "because the Sages are human, my knowledge from them might not be complete or accurate," he sought to serve the Lord—the one who knows the reality of the entirety of the difficult science of astronomy, who is not a deceiver, who is all-knowing, and the Great Teacher.

Furthermore, one might suggest that it is not proper for an Asura A titan or non-divine being to engage with the science of astronomy because it would lack a spiritual result for him. To this, the author says: A limb of the Veda. It is a Vedanga One of the six auxiliary disciplines of the Vedas, specifically astronomy. Since the fruit of the "limb" is the same as the fruit of the "body" (the Veda itself), and that fruit is Liberation Moksha: release from the cycle of rebirth, it is proper to engage in this study.