In the sacred account, it is told that among the divine powers are Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Rākā, and Anumati. Alongside them are Nabho and Nabhasya, Aviṣa and Ūrja, Saha and Sahasya—these are known as the southern ones, presiding over their realms. Next, the five Ārtavas are to be known, the sons of Brahmā, who embody the cycle of five years. It is said that the new moon marks the gateway to the seasons for the performance of sacred rites. When one knows the proper times, confusion does not arise in the observance of ancestral or divine ceremonies. From the radiance of light, the world is remembered; this region is called Lokāloka. There, at the boundary between the known and the unknown, stand four great beings who emerged from the primordial flood of non-being: Hiraṇyaromā, Parjanya, Ketumān, and Rājasa. These mighty guardians are stationed in the four directions at Lokāloka, watching over the worlds. Beyond these, the path of the ancestors lies outside the Vaiśvānara path. Those who ensure the continuation of the world are established upon the ancestral way. Desiring to reach the worlds, they proceed along the southern path, purified by austerity, by observance of sacred limits, and by their learning. The later generations are born from the earlier ones, even at the time of their passing. There are said to be eighty-eight thousand sages who are householders, each one possessing the power of ritual action and having entered the cremation grounds. Through inclination and aversion, through deeds and through union, by these various causes, those who attained perfection entered the sacred grounds of cremation. One such ground lies north of the Nāga street, and another is south of the constellation of the Seven Sages. There, perfected beings reside—pure, steadfast in celibacy. There are also eighty-eight thousand sages who retain their vital seed upwards, abstaining from union and from intercourse with the world. Through union free of desire and by discerning the defects in sound and the other senses, they remain at the time of cosmic dissolution, manifesting immortality. Others are distinguished by their merit or demerit, whether by grave acts such as the killing of a fetus or by great sacrifices like the horse sacrifice. Above and beyond all these sages, Dhruva is remembered as dwelling there, steadfast and bright. In that exalted realm, those who uphold the worlds—such as Dharma and Dhruva—remain ever present. Now, the future courses of these beings are to be declared in order: the movements of the sun and moon, and likewise of all the planets. Their paths—whether in sequence or free from confusion—are wondrous to know. The sages express their wish: “Tell us, O noble one, about that which, though seen with our own eyes, still confounds our understanding.” Dhruva, the son of Uttānapāda, stands fixed in the sky, unmoving. All the stars revolve around him, following his motion as spokes follow the hub of a wheel. The sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets all move together with the constellations, their conjunctions and separations, their movements and courses through time, all unfolding from Dhruva. The equinoxes and the colors of the planets, too, proceed from him. From Dhruva arise all auspicious and inauspicious results for beings. He is the blazing, radiant one—the sun itself, the fire of time. The sun, with his network of rays, pervades all things, ever joined with the wind, upholding the order of the cosmos.