The sky · who carries the lights
The bearers
आभियोग्य देव
Every light in the sky is carried: 16,000 gods to a sun or a moon — 4,000 as lions to the east, elephants to the south, bulls to the west, horses to the north.
The vimānas do not simply fly; they are borne. Ābhiyogya gods take animal form beneath each one — lions on the east side, elephants on the south, bulls on the west, horses on the north, 4,000 of each — sixteen thousand under every sun and every moon.
The escort scales with rank: 8,000 to a planet, 4,000 to a constellation, 2,000 to a star. Bearing a light is these gods' entire office, taken as their form of service, and the procession never halts — inside Mānuṣottara it has never once stopped.
Measurements and counts
| Under a sun or moon | 16,000 |
|---|---|
| East | 4,000 lions |
| South | 4,000 elephants |
| West | 4,000 bulls |
| North | 4,000 horses |
| Under a planet | 8,000 |
| Under a constellation | 4,000 |
| Under a star | 2,000 |