शमनुभावयन्तो भगवतो विष्णोर्यत्परमं पदं प्रदक्षिणं प्रक्रमन्ति ॥१७॥
tata uttarasmÄd ṛṣaya ekÄdaÅ›a-laká¹£a-yojanÄntara upalabhyante ya eva lokÄnÄá¹ Å›am anubhÄvayanto bhagavato viṣṇor yat paramaá¹ padaá¹ pradaká¹£iṇaá¹ prakramanti
tataḥ - the planet Saturn; uttarasmÄt - above; ṛṣayaḥ - great saintly sages; ekÄdaÅ›a-laká¹£a-yojana-antare - at a distance of 1,100,000 yojanas; upalabhyante - are situated; ye - all of them; eva - indeed; lokÄnÄm - for all the inhabitants of the universe; Å›am - the good fortune; anubhÄvayantaḥ - always thinking of; bhagavataḥ - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; viṣṇoḥ - Lord Viṣṇu; yat - which; paramam padam - the supreme abode; pradaká¹£iṇam - placing on the right; prakramanti - circumambulate.
Situated 8,800,000 miles above Saturn, or 20,800,000 miles above earth, are the seven saintly sages, who are always thinking of the well-being of the inhabitants of the universe. They circumambulate the supreme abode of Lord Viṣṇu, known as Dhruvaloka, the polestar.
ÅšrÄ«la MadhvÄcÄrya quotes the following verse from the BrahmÄṇá¸a PurÄṇa:
jñÄnÄnandÄtmano viṣṇuḥ
Å›iÅ›umÄra-vapuá¹£y atha
Å«rdhva-lokeá¹£u sa vyÄpta
ÄdityÄdyÄs tad-ÄÅ›ritÄ
“Lord Viṣṇu, who is the source of knowledge and transcendental bliss, has assumed the form of ÅšiÅ›umÄra in the seventh heaven, which is situated in the topmost level of the universe. All the other planets, beginning with the sun, exist under the shelter of this ÅšiÅ›umÄra planetary system.â€
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Twenty-second Chapter, of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, entitled “The Orbits of the Planets.â€
