Mercury (planet)

Expressions researched:
"Budha-graha" |"Mercury"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.17.14, Translation and Purport:

Ominous planets such as Mars and Saturn shone brighter and surpassed the auspicious ones such as Mercury, Jupiter and Venus as well as a number of lunar mansions. Taking seemingly retrograde courses, the planets came in conflict with one another.

The entire universe is moving under the three modes of material nature. Those living entities who are in goodness are called the pious species—pious lands, pious trees, etc. It is similar with the planets also; many planets are considered pious, and others are considered impious. Saturn and Mars are considered impious. When the pious planets shine very brightly, it is an auspicious sign, but when the inauspicious planets shine very brightly, this is not a very good sign.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.22 Summary:

The moon is situated 100,000 yojanas above the rays of the sunshine. Day and night on the heavenly planets and Pitṛloka are calculated according to its waning and waxing. Above the moon by a distance of 200,000 yojanas are some stars, and above these stars is Śukra-graha (Venus), whose influence is always auspicious for the inhabitants of the entire universe. Above Śukra-graha by 200,000 yojanas is Budha-graha (Mercury), whose influence is sometimes auspicious and sometimes inauspicious. Next, above Budha-graha by 200,000 yojanas, is Aṅgāraka (Mars), which almost always has an unfavorable influence. Above Aṅgāraka by another 200,000 yojanas is the planet called Bṛhaspati-graha (Jupiter), which is always very favorable for qualified brāhmaṇas. Above Bṛhaspati-graha is the planet Śanaiścara (Saturn), which is very inauspicious, and above Saturn is a group of seven stars occupied by great saintly persons who are always thinking of the welfare of the entire universe. These seven stars circumambulate Dhruvaloka, which is the residence of Lord Viṣṇu within this universe.

SB 5.22.13, Translation:

Mercury is described to be similar to Venus, in that it moves sometimes behind the sun, sometimes in front of the sun and sometimes along with it. It is 1,600,000 miles above Venus, or 7,200,000 miles above earth. Mercury, which is the son of the moon, is almost always very auspicious for the inhabitants of the universe, but when it does not move along with the sun, it forbodes cyclones, dust, irregular rainfall, and waterless clouds. In this way it creates fearful conditions due to inadequate or excessive rainfall.

SB 5.22.14, Translation:

Situated 1,600,000 miles above Mercury, or 8,800,000 miles above earth, is the planet Mars. If this planet does not travel in a crooked way, it crosses through each sign of the zodiac in three fortnights and in this way travels through all twelve, one after another. It almost always creates unfavorable conditions in respect to rainfall and other influences.

SB 5.23.3, Purport:

According to the description of this verse, the hundreds and thousands of stars and the great planets such as the sun, the moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter are not clustered together because of the law of gravity or any similar idea of the modern scientists. These planets and stars are all servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda or Kṛṣṇa, and according to His order they sit in their chariots and travel in their respective orbits.

SB 5.23.7, Translation:

On the upper chin of the śiśumāra is Agasti; on its lower chin, Yamarāja; on its mouth, Mars; on its genitals, Saturn; on the back of its neck, Jupiter; on its chest, the sun; and within the core of its heart, Nārāyaṇa. Within its mind is the moon; on its navel, Venus; and on its breasts, the Aśvinī-kumāras. Within its life air, which is known as prāṇāpāna, is Mercury, on its neck is Rāhu, all over its body are comets, and in its pores are the numerous stars.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 13.89, Purport:

The explanation of the horoscope given by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is that at the time of the birth of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu the planets were situated as follows: Śukra (Venus) was in Meṣa-rāśi (Aries) and the nakṣatra (lunar mansion) of Aśvinī; Ketu (the ninth planet) was in Siṁha-rāśi (Leo) and Uttaraphalgunī; Candra (the moon) was in Pūrvaphalgunī (the eleventh lunar mansion); Śani (Saturn) was in Vṛścika-rāśi (Scorpio) and Jyeṣthā; Bṛhaspati (Jupiter) was in Dhanu-rāśi (Sagittarius) and Pūrvāṣāḍhā; Maṅgala (Mars) was in Makara-rāśi (Capricorn) and Śravaṇā; Ravi (the sun) was in Kumbha-rāśi (Aquarius) and Pūrvabhādrapāda; Rāhu was in Pūrvabhādrapāda; and Budha (Mercury) was in Mīna-rāśi (Pisces) and Uttarabhādrapāda. The lagna was Siṁha.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1975, Honolulu:

Guru kṛpā: In other words, to elevate oneself to the moon planet, that is harder than going to the sun planet.

Prabhupāda: That is God's wish. "You can go up on Me? What is this?" Their calculation is that moon is nearer, is it not?

Guru kṛpā:. Yes.

Prabhupāda: But not moon is nearer; sun is nearer. And above, in the proportion, 1,600,000 miles, above moon there is Mercury, Mars, in this way, Venus. It is not so easy.

Śrutakīrti: The planets are not orbiting the sun.

Prabhupāda: No, no. They have got their different orbits.

Guru kṛpā:. This is real science, to know these facts.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- July 21, 1975, San Francisco:

Paramahaṁsa: Well, didn't the Yamadūtas... You stated in your lecture yesterday that the Yamadūtas said that what is truth is what is in the Vedas. So I assume from the Vedic knowledge that there is life on other planets. Logically speaking also.

Prabhupāda: Yes. How can you say there is no life?

Paramahaṁsa: But the scientists are saying, though, that the nearest star to our... You know, they consider the sun a star. And that the nearest star to ours is four light years away. Which means that it's... They do not believe that there's life in this entire solar system, in the planets nearest us, the moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Neptune, Jupiter. They assume it's either too cold...

Prabhupāda: No, we say in the sun there is life. Otherwise how Kṛṣṇa says, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). "I spoke this Bhagavad-gītā science to the sun-god." So? Sun-god is dead stone, and Kṛṣṇa spoke to him?

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- October 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The eight house is called the house of death. He says, "Ketu is in the eight house with the sun, which is the lord of the eighth house, and Krusu, the lord of the twelfth and third houses. They are all in the eighth house. Mercury in Ketu started from 16th January." He says, " Budha is the satesa also, disease. Śani has gone to the eighth house, which is the house of death, from the 7th September." That's the day you had your operation. "Śani as lagneśa in the eighth house and the transit over Jupiter and Ketu. The negative effect continues throughout October 1977, November 1977, and from the first of December, 1977, Saturn becomes almost stationary and becomes more malefic." Saturn becomes even worse. "In January 1978 until April 1978 it again traverses the same degrees and becomes stagnant on Jupiter and Ketu in the last week of February. The native has..."

Prabhupāda: January '77 we have passed.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: January '78, Śrīla Prabhupāda. It says that you're supposed to have lived for seventy-five years, but everything beyond that was an extension by Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Where is...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Juice? They're just making it, Śrīla Prabhupāda. It says here that "The moon is in the eighth house, which is very bad. The patient may not recover." Then he gives various planets which are also not well aligned. He says the conjunction of another two planets is very bad. "Hospitalization and ill health are intensified in the present year.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Svarupa Damodara -- Mauritius 24 October, 1975:

According to our sastra, sun is first, then moon, then Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, like that. In other words, from Bhagavatam we understand that the moon is 1,600,000 miles above the sun. If that is true, then is it possible to go to the moon planet by persons who can never imagine to go the distance to the sun planet? Under the circumstances, if we say that they have never gone to the moon planet, is it exaggeration? You are a scientist, I hope you will reply these 2 points scientifically. If the moon planet is actually far away from the sun planet, how they can go there and publish in the paper that the moon planet is the nearest planet.