Verse 1

¹This much of the setting out of the earth-circle has been explained, by its measure and its marks. ²By this, those who know it teach the measure of the disc of heaven as well. Between the two lies the middle air, joined to both, as the space lies between the two halves of a bean or the like. ³The revered sun who stands at the middle of it, lord of the burning ones, the burner, heats the three worlds with his heat and lights them with his own light. Going by what are called the northward course, the southward course and the level course, moving slowly, quickly and evenly, climbing, going down and holding level, he passes into the signs from Makara on as the pressing hours come, and so makes the days and nights long, short and equal.

⁴When he is in Mesa and Tula the days and nights come out equal. When he moves through the five signs from Vrsabha on, the days lengthen, and month by month one ghatika is taken from the nights. ⁵When he is in the five signs from Vrscika on, the days and nights go the other way about. ⁶The days lengthen up to the southward course, and the nights up to the northward course.