d Hutasana the arrow for Sankara's use. Agni became the
staff, and Soma became the head, and Vishnu the point, O king, of that
foremost of arrows. The goddess Earth, with her large cities and towns,
her mountains and forests and islands, that home of diverse creatures,
was made the car. The Mandara mountain was made its axle; and the great
river Ganga was made its Jangha; and the points of the compass, cardinal
and subsidiary became the ornaments of the car. The constellations became
its shaft; the Krita age became its yoke; and that best of Snakes, viz.,
Vasuki, became the Kuvara of that car. Himavat and Vindhya mountains
became its Apaskara and Adhishthana; and the Udaya and the Asta mountains
were made the wheels of that car by those foremost ones among the gods.
They made the excellent Ocean, that abode of the Danavas its other axle.
The seven Rishis became the protectors of the wheels of that car. Ganga
and Sarasvati and Sindhu and the Sky became its Dhura; all the other
rivers and all the waters became the chords for binding the several limbs
of that car. Day and Night and the other divisions of time such as Kalas
and Kasthas, and the Seasons became its Amukarsha. The blazing planets
and the stars became its wooden fence; Religion, Profit, and Pleasure,
united together, became its Trivenu. The herbs and the creepers, decked
with flowers and fruits, became its bells. Making the Sun and the Moon
equal, these were made the (other two) wheels of that foremost of cars.
Day and Night were made its auspicious wings on the right and left. The
ten foremost of snakes having Dhritarashtra for their first, all
exceedingly strong, formed the (other) shaft of that car. The Sky was
made its (other) yoke, and the clouds called Samvartaka and Valahaka were
the leathern strings of the yoke. The two Twilights and Dhritri and Medha
and Sthiti and Sannati, and the firmament bespangled with planets and
stars, were made the skins for covering that car. Those Regents of the
world, viz., the Lords of the gods, of the waters, of the dead, and of
treasures, were made the steeds of that car. Kalaprishtha, and Nahusha,
and Karkotaka, and Dhananjaya and the other snakes became the chords for
binding the manes of the steeds. The cardinal and the subsidiary
directions became the reins of the steeds of that car. The Vedic sound
Vashat became the goad, and Gayatri became the string attached to that
goad. The four auspicious days were made the traces