गणाः सप्त चतुर्दश मासि मासि भगवन्तं सूर्यमात्मानं नानानामानं पृथङ्नाना
नामानः पृथक्कर्मभिर्द्वन्द्वश उपासते ॥१८॥
tathÄnye ca ṛṣayo gandharvÄpsaraso nÄgÄ grÄmaṇyo yÄtudhÄnÄ devÄ ity ekaikaÅ›o gaṇÄḥ sapta caturdaÅ›a mÄsi mÄsi bhagavantaá¹ sÅ«ryam ÄtmÄnaá¹ nÄnÄ-nÄmÄnaá¹ pá¹›thaá¹…-nÄnÄ-nÄmÄnaḥ pá¹›thak-karmabhir dvandvaÅ›a upÄsate
tathÄ - similarly; anye - others; ca - also; ṛṣayaḥ - saintly persons; gandharva-apsarasaḥ - Gandharvas and ApsarÄs; nÄgÄḥ - NÄga snakes; grÄmaṇyaḥ - Yaká¹£as; yÄtudhÄnÄḥ - RÄká¹£asas; devÄḥ - demigods; iti - thus; eka-ekaÅ›aḥ - one by one; gaṇÄḥ - groups; sapta - seven; caturdaÅ›a - fourteen in number; mÄsi mÄsi - in every month; bhagavantam - unto the most powerful demigod; sÅ«ryam - the sun-god; ÄtmÄnam - the life of the universe; nÄnÄ - various; nÄmÄnam - who possesses names; pá¹›thak - separate; nÄnÄ-nÄmÄnaḥ - having various names; pá¹›thak - separate; karmabhiḥ - by ritualistic ceremonies; dvandvaÅ›aḥ - in groups of two; upÄsate - worship.
Similarly, fourteen other saints, Gandharvas, ApsarÄs, NÄgas, Yaká¹£as, RÄká¹£asas and demigods, who are divided into groups of two, assume different names every month and continuously perform different ritualistic ceremonies to worship the Supreme Lord as the most powerful demigod SÅ«ryadeva, who holds many names.
In the Viṣṇu PurÄṇa it is said:
stuvanti munayaḥ sÅ«ryaá¹
gandharvair gīyate puraḥ
ná¹›tyanto ’psaraso yÄnti
sÅ«ryasyÄnu niÅ›ÄcarÄḥ
vahanti pannagÄ yaká¹£aiḥ
kriyate ’bhiṣusaṅgrahaḥ
vÄlikhilyÄs tathaivainaá¹
parivÄrya samÄsate
so ’yaṠsapta-gaṇaḥ sūrya-
maṇá¸ale muni-sattama
himoṣṇa vÄri-vṛṣá¹Ä«á¹‡Äá¹
hetutve samayaṠgataḥ
Worshiping the most powerful demigod SÅ«rya, the Gandharvas sing in front of him, the ApsarÄs dance before the chariot, the NiÅ›Äcaras follow the chariot, the Pannagas decorate the chariot, the Yaká¹£as guard the chariot, and the saints called the VÄlikhilyas surround the sun-god and offer prayers. The seven groups of fourteen associates arrange the proper times for regular snow, heat and rain throughout the universe.
