TEXT 21
ādityānām ahaṁ viṣṇur
jyotiṣāṁ ravir aṁśumān
marīcir marutām asmi
nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī
SYNONYMS
ādityānām—of the Ādityas; aham—I am; viṣṇuḥ—the Supreme Lord; jyotiṣām—of all luminaries; raviḥ—the sun; aṁśu-mān—radiant; marīciḥ—Marīci; marutām—of the Maruts; asmi—I am; nakṣatrāṇām—of the stars; aham—I am; śaśī—the moon.
TRANSLATION
Of the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marīci, and among the stars I am the moon.
PURPORT
There are twelve Ādityas, of which Kṛṣṇa is the principal. Among all the luminaries shining in the sky, the sun is the chief, and in the Brahma-saṁhitā 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, Marīci, represents Kṛṣṇa.
Among the stars, the moon is the most prominent at night, and thus the moon represents Kṛṣṇa. 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-gītā indicates herein that the moon is one of the stars, the twinkling stars are not suns but are similar to the moon.
TEXT 22
vedānāṁ sāma-vedo ‘smi
devānām asmi vāsavaḥ
indriyāṇāṁ manaś cāsmi
bhūtānām asmi cetanā
SYNONYMS
vedānām—of all the Vedas; sāma-vedaḥ—the Sāma Veda; asmi—I am; devānām—of all the demigods; asmi—I am; vāsavaḥ—the heavenly king; indriyāṇām—of all the senses; manaḥ—the mind; ca—also; asmi—I am; bhūtānām—of all living entities; asmi—I am; cetanā—the living force.
TRANSLATION
Of the Vedas I am the Sāma Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness].
PURPORT
The difference between matter and spirit is that matter has no consciousness like the living entity; therefore this consciousness is supreme and eternal. Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.
