BHAGAVAD-GITA 10:21

[Guest guest]

BHAGAVAD-GITA 10:21

 

adityanam aham visnur

jyotisam ravir amsuman

maricir marutam asmi

naksatranam aham sasi

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

adityanam--of the Adityas; aham--I am; visnuh--the Supreme Lord;

jyotisam--of all luminaries; ravih--the sun; amsu-man--radiant;

maricih--Marici; marutam--of the Maruts; asmi--I am; naksatranam--of

the stars; aham--I am; sasi--the moon.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Of the Adityas I am Visnu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the

Maruts I am Marici, and among the stars I am the moon.

 

PURPORT

 

There are twelve Adityas, of which Krsna is the principal. Among all

the luminaries twinkling in the sky, the sun is the chief, and in the

Brahma-samhita the sun is accepted as the glowing eye of the Supreme

Lord. There are fifty varieties of wind blowing in space, and of these

winds the controlling deity, Marici, represents Krsna.

 

Among the stars, the moon is the most prominent at night, and thus the

moon represents Krsna. It appears from this verse that the moon is one

of the stars; therefore the stars that twinkle in the sky also reflect

the light of the sun. The theory that there are many suns within the

universe is not accepted by Vedic literature. The sun is one, and as

by the reflection of the sun the moon illuminates, so also do the

stars. Since Bhagavad-gita indicates herein that the moon is one of

the stars, the twinkling stars are not suns but are similar to the

moon.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.