Bhagavatgita a detyailed study-chaper10-The glory of the divine manifestations

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21. aadhithyaanaam aham vishNuH jyothishaam raviH

amSumaan

mareechiH maruthaam asmi nakshathraaNaam aham SaSee

I am Vishnu among aadhithyaas, the Sun with rays among the luminous bodies, Mareechi , the luminance among the maruths and the moon among the stars.

The Adhithyaas are twelve in numdber and were the sons of Adhithi, one of the wives of Kasyapa who also is the mother of the devas. These twelve adhithyas are in power for all the twelve months of the year. Of them Vishnu is the prominent of all. He is not to be confused with the Lord Narayana, who is known as Vishnu because He is all pervading, vyaapanaath vishNuH.

Of all the luminous bodies the Sun is the brightest and most powerful. Hence the Lord says His manifestation can be easily seen in the Sun.

The maruths are 49 in number and they were born to Dhithi, another wife of Kasyapa, who was also the mother of the asuras. She observed a vratha to get a son who will destroy the devas who have killed her sons the asuras. But when she failed to observe the rules of the vratha faithfully due to fatigue one day Indra entered her womb and tried to kill the foetus. He cut it into 49 pieces but it cried and assured him that he will be only a friend to Indra. Consequently Dhithi gave birth to 49 sons who were called maruths, due to being told by Indra "maa rudha, don't cry." Mareechi is not a name of a maruth and should not be confused with the sage Marici, but means the thejas as mareechi means a ray.

As the Moon is the king of the stars, the Lord says that He could be seen in the Moon

22. vedhaanaam saamvedho asmi dhevaanaam asmi vaasavaH

indhriyaaNaam manaSchasmi bhoothaanaam asmi

chethanaa

I am the samaveda of all the four Vedas and Indra among the devas. I am the mind among the indhriyas and the sentience in all beings.

The sama veda is the most important among the Vedas and Indra is the king of devas. But the mind is classified as the indhriya because the indhriyas acquire power only through the mind. Sentience is the special quality of all moveable beings. Hence the Lord has identified Himself with it.

23.rudhraaNaam SankaraSchasmi vittheSo yaksharashasaam

vasoonaam paavakaSchaasmi meruH SikhariNaam aham

I am Sankara among the rudras and I am Kubera of the yakshas.I am the Fire among the vasus and Meru among the mountains with peaks

Rudras are eleven in number and Lord Siva or Sankara is the master of them. Kubera is the master of the yakshas . The vasus are eight in number and anala meaning agni is one of them. He is the most prominent because he carries the havis to the devas in the yajnas and also said to be the mouth of the Lord, who is the bhoktha, enjoyer of all the offerings.

Meru is the mythological mountain which is huge and its peaks are made of gold. Not all mountains have peaks , Sikharas, and among them the Meru o if the loftiest and greatest.

24. puroDhasaam cha mukhyam maam vidDhi paarTha

brhaspatim

senaaneenaam aham skandhaH sarsaam asmi saagaraH

Of the priests know Me, Arjuna, as Brahaspati. I am Skandha among the commanders and I am the ocean among the water resorts.

Brahaspathi is the preceptor of the devas and embodiment of wisdom. Skandha is Lord Subramanya . son of Lord Siva who took over the command of the army of the devas to destroy Soorapadma as he was created for the very purpose.

Saagara is the ocean which is the prominent of all water resorts.

 

25. maharsheeNaam bhruguraham giraam asmi ekam

aksharam

yajnaanaam japayajno asmi sThaavaraaNaam himaalayaH

I am Bhrgu among the great rshis and I am the single syllable Om of the words. I am the japayajna among the yagnas and the Himalayas among the immovable .

Bhrgu is one of the maharshis and the goddess Lakshmi incarnated as his daughter and has the name Bhaargavi. He tested the trinity to know who is full of satthva and when the others got angry Lord Vishnu did not lose His composure even when Brgu kicked Him on His chest. He even bore the mark of the kick as Srivathsa on His chest always. Btgu was a great devotee who only wanted to show the greatness of the Lord by his action.

Ekam aksharam, one syllable means the Omkara, or Pranava which of course is the most important and the svaroopa of the Lord. Which is why the Lord says I am the Pranava.

Japa yajna is the yajna of meditation and referred to in the chapter 4 as jnanayajna and extolled to be the best of all kinds of yajna. (Chapter4-Sloka 33). This shows the importance of the mental worship over the material.

In the sloka 23 the Lord said He is the Meru among the mountains that have peaks. In this sloka He says that He is the Himalayas among the immovable. There is no ambiguity here. There He has specified that among the sikharee, those mountains with peaks He is the Meru. Here He mentions Himalayas as being one of the mountains in general. Meru is situated in heaven which no one can see and worship. Hence it could not be included among the mountains in general.

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