Surya Siddhanta — [Chapter One]

Lest you think, "You will speak your own inventions," he explains the connection to that tradition by saying—"In the past," etc. That which was mentioned as the "eye-like knowledge," meaning the science of the stars Jyotish-shastra: the traditional term for Indian astronomy and astrology. At what time in the distant past? To this he says—"In age after age." The intended meaning is: to the great sages in every Great Age Mahayuga: a vast cosmic cycle of 4,320,000 years. By the Sun himself, "without an intermediary," meaning directly. The word "himself" is used to exclude the possibility of another being the intermediary, just as it is impossible for me to speak to you directly every day The speaker is a partial manifestation or messenger of the Sun, not the full solar orb itself. Because those sages had brought the Lord under their control through the power of their asceticism, and their desires were unimpeded due to His grace, it was possible for them to reside within the solar sphere; thus it was taught to them. The sense is: "What was spoken by the Sun is being told to you; it is not my own invention." || 8 ||

Hindi Commentary—In every Age, the Sun God himself speaks this supreme knowledge to the great sages; listen to this with a one-pointed mind. || 8 ||

Now, a doubt arises: since what the Sun says in each age might not be identical, which age’s scripture are you teaching? Otherwise, if it were always the same, the phrase "in age after age" would be redundant. To this he says—

This is that same original scripture which the Sun spoke in the past.

Only the difference of time is found here, through the revolution of the Ages 1. || 9 ||

This science of the stars which is about to be told by me to you is that which was spoken by the Sun. By the use of the word "same," it means this is a repetition to you of what the Sun said, without any deviation into my own inventions. "Original" means spoken by the Sun in the earliest time. Now, since even what the Sun said in a recent age could be called "past," and thus confusion might arise, he provides a description of the word "original" as required by the context, saying—"Which." It refers to the scripture which the Sun spoke "in the past," meaning first, before which nothing else was spoken. "He spoke" means he explained it with great excellence and detail to the sages. And so, because there is no reason to go beyond the first, and because the first is the most detailed, and because what was said in subsequent ages is already contained in what was said before (and thus condensed and disregarded), the scripture of the first age is being taught. This is the intent.

But then, would this not imply that the scriptures spoken by the Sun in subsequent ages are useless? To this he says—"Of the Ages." Through the revolution—the repeated cycling—of the Great Ages, there is "only" a lack of difference in the scriptures spoken by the Sun; that is all it means. "Difference of time" refers to the interval created by time. The meaning is that the time of a later scripture is different from the time of the earlier scripture, but the difference in these scriptures is not a difference in the methods taught.

Furthermore, due to the power of time, some variation occurs in the motion of the planets Grahachara: the calculated paths or movements of the heavenly bodies. Therefore, in another age, having established those subsequent planetary motions, the Compassionate One [the Sun] spoke as if it were another scripture for the sake of the worldly dealings of the people living at that time; thus, the later scriptures are not useless. And so, the sense is: "I have accepted the planetary motions established in the scripture spoken by the Sun for the current age, and having disregarded the motions from the first age as they serve no current purpose, I am teaching you exactly what He said."

Even within an age, if a difference is observed in the planetary motions during intermediate times, the learned men of those times establish the corrections and compose books. They call this difference the "seed" Bija: a correction factor applied to astronomical formulas to maintain accuracy over time in the earlier texts. Because the ancient texts have been lost, the dialogue between the Sun and the Sages is no longer seen today. However, its lack of fame should not lead to doubt, as its authority comes from sacred tradition. || 9 ||

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1. Or the reading is "only" [variant Sanskrit grammar].