The Twelve Celestial Bodies of Hiranyagarbha: A Structural and Comparative Analysis of a Contemporary Dharmic Cosmological Model

This paper presents a structural exposition and comparative analysis of the origin cosmology of Sanatan Dharma as set out in the twelve-celestial-body model of author and scholar Kedi Ganapati. The model describes the actual physical structure of the cosmos — all celestial bodies, from Earth and the Sun to the cosmic womb Hiranyagarbha itself — as organized into twelve categories of “celestial bodies” (pind), divided into four non-dual (Advaita) bodies — Hiranyagarbha, Vaikuntha, Devadham, and Hiranyaloka — and eight dual (Dvaita) bodies — Shubhra, Shukla, Krishna, stars, planets, living planets (loka), satellites, and asteroids. Earth itself is classified within this system as a physical, dual (Dvaita) celestial body: a living planet (loka) orbiting the Sun within the planet category, alongside Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the two shadow planets Rahu and Ketu. The paper describes each category, reconstructs the nested orbital hierarchy and associated time cycles (Kalpa, Manvantara, Chaturyuga), and situates the model against classical Puranic cosmology — particularly the shared motif of the cosmic egg (Brahmanda/Hiranyagarbha), the sevenfold loka structure, and cyclical Yuga time-reckoning. This exposition is Kedi Ganapati's interpretation of Sanatan Dharma cosmology, drawn principally from his book CODE – Code of Dharma Eternal and the Spine of Sanatan (published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers), and it identifies both the continuities this account shares with, and the elaborations it adds to, received Puranic and Vedantic cosmology.