सोमस्य त्रयोदशसहस्रं राहोर्यः पर्वणि तद्व्यवधानकृद्वैरानुबन्धः सूर्या
चन्द्रमसावभिधावति ॥२॥
yad adas taraṇer maṇá¸alaá¹ pratapatas tad vistarato yojanÄyutam Äcaká¹£ate dvÄdaÅ›a-sahasraá¹ somasya trayodaÅ›a-sahasraá¹ rÄhor yaḥ parvaṇi tad-vyavadhÄna-ká¹›d vairÄnubandhaḥ sÅ«ryÄ-candramasÄv abhidhÄvati
yat - which; adaḥ - that; taraṇeḥ - of the sun; maṇá¸alam - globe; pratapataḥ - which is always distributing heat; tat - that; vistarataḥ - in terms of width; yojana - a distance of eight miles; ayutam - ten thousand; Äcaká¹£ate - they estimate; dvÄdaÅ›a-sahasram - 20,000 yojanas (160,000 miles); somasya - of the moon; trayodaÅ›a - thirty; sahasram - one thousand; rÄhoḥ - of the planet RÄhu; yaḥ - which; parvaṇi - on occasion; tat-vyavadhÄna-ká¹›t - who created an obstruction to the sun and moon at the time of the distribution of nectar; vaira-anubandhaḥ - whose intentions are inimical; sÅ«ryÄ - the sun; candramasau - and the moon; abhidhÄvati - runs after them on the full-moon night and the dark-moon day.
The sun globe, which is a source of heat, extends for 10,000 yojanas [80,000 miles]. The moon extends for 20,000 yojanas [160,000 miles], and RÄhu extends for 30,000 yojanas [240,000 miles]. Formerly, when nectar was being distributed, RÄhu tried to create dissension between the sun and moon by interposing himself between them. RÄhu is inimical toward both the sun and the moon, and therefore he always tries to cover the sunshine and moonshine on the dark-moon day and full-moon night.
As stated herein, the sun extends for 10,000 yojanas, and the moon extends for twice that, or 20,000 yojanas. The word dvÄdaÅ›a should be understood to mean twice as much as ten, or twenty. In the opinion of Vijayadhvaja, the extent of RÄhu should be twice that of the moon, or 40,000 yojanas. However to reconcile this apparent contradiction to the text of the BhÄgavatam, Vijayadhvaja cites the following quotation concerning RÄhu; rÄhu-soma-ravīṇÄá¹ tu maṇá¸alÄ dvi-guṇoktitÄm. This means that RÄhu is twice as large as the moon, which is twice as large as the sun. This is the conclusion of the commentator Vijayadhvaja.
