यथा मेढीस्तम्भ आक्रमणपशव: संयोजितास्त्रिभिस्त्रिभि: सवनैर्यथास्थानं मण्डलानि चरन्त्येवं भगणा ग्रहादय एतस्मिन्नन्तर्बहिर्योगेन कालचक्र आयोजिता ध्रुवमेवावलम्ब्य वायुनोदीर्यमाणा आकल्पान्तं परिचङ्क्रमन्ति नभसि यथा मेघा: श्येनादयो वायुवशा: कर्मसारथय: परिवर्तन्ते एवं ज्योतिर्गणा: प्रकृतिपुरुषसंयोगानुगृहीता: कर्मनिर्मितगतयो भुवि न पतन्ति ॥ ३ ॥
yatha medhistambha akramana-pasavah samyojitas tribhis tribhih savanair yatha-sthanam mandalani caranty evam bhagana grahadaya etasminn antar-bahir-yogena kala-cakra ayojita dhruvam evavalambya vayunodiryamana akalpantam parican kramanti nabhasi yatha meghah syenadayo vayu-vasah karma-sarathayah parivartante evam jyotirganah prakrti-purusa-samyoganugrhitah karma-nirmita-gatayo bhuvi na patanti.
- yatha
- exactly like
- medhistambhe
- to the pivot post
- akramana-pasavah
- bulls for threshing rice
- samyojitah
- being yoked
- tribhih tribhih
- by three
- savanaih
- movements
- yatha-sthanam
- in their proper places
- mandalani
- orbits
- caranti
- traverse
- evam
- in the same way
- bha-ganah
- the luminaries, like the sun, the moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter
- graha-adayah
- the different planets
- etasmin
- in this
- antah-bahih-yogena
- by connection with the inner or outer circles
- kala-cakre
- in the wheel of eternal time
- ayojitah
- fixed
- dhruvam
- Dhruvaloka
- eva
- certainly
- avalambya
- taking support of
- vayuna
- by the wind
- udiryamanah
- being propelled
- a-kalpa-antam
- until the end of the creation
- parican kramanti
- revolve all around
- nabhasi
- in the sky
- yatha
- exactly like
- meghah
- heavy clouds
- syena-adayah
- birds such as the big eagle
- vayu-vasah
- controlled by the air
- karma-sarathayah
- whose chariot drivers are the results of their own past activities
- parivartante
- move around
- evam
- in this way
- jyotih-ganah
- the luminaries, the planets and stars in the sky
- prakrti
- of material nature
- purusa
- and of the Supreme Personality, Krsna
- samyoga-anugrhitah
- supported by the combined efforts
- karma-nirmita
- caused by their own past fruitive activities
- gatayah
- whose movements
- bhuvi
- on the ground
- na
- not
- patanti
- fall down
When bulls are yoked together and tied to a central post to thresh rice, they tread around that pivot without deviating from their proper positions—one bull being closest to the post, another in the middle, and a third on the outside. Similarly, all the planes and all the hundreds and thousands of stars revolve around the polestar, the planet of Maharaja Dhruva, in their respective orbits, some higher and some lower. Fastened by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the machine of material nature according to the results of their fruitive acts, they are driven around the polestar by the wind and will continue to be so until the end of creation. These planes float in the air within the vast sky, just as clouds with hundreds of tons of water float in the air or as the great syena eagles, due to the results of past activities, fly high in the sky and have no chance of falling to the ground.