Devanagari
आदित्यानामहं विष्णुर्ज्योतिषां रविरंशुमान् ।
मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मि नक्षत्राणामहं शशी ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
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.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
21. Among Ādityas I am Viṣṇu, and among lights, I am the many-rayed sun. Among the winds, I am Marīci. [Note: The story is told in SB 6.18. Indra entered Diti’s womb and cut her son into forty-nine parts. In this way the forty-nine kinds of air known as the Maruts appeared.] I am the moon amidst the stars.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
21. Among Ādityas I am Viṣṇu, and among lights, I am the many-rayed sun. Among the winds, I am Marīci. [Note: The story is told in SB 6.19. Indra entered Diti’s womb and cut her son into forty-nine parts. In this way the forty-nine kinds of air known as the Maruts appeared.] I am the moon amidst the stars.
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.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The genitive case is use for the rest of the chapter to indicate a specific head of group of items and also to indicate a relation to a group. Among the twelve Ādityas, I am Viṣṇu, one of the names of the sun. [Note: The sun is given twelve names according its position in the twelve zodiac signs throughout the year. The names are Dhātṛ, Aryaman, Mitra, Varuṇa, Indra, Vivasvat, Pūṣan, Parjanya, Amśa, Bhaga, Tvaṣṭṛ and Viṣṇu.] This is My vibhūti. Among all lights, those things which reveal, I am the sun, with a multitude of rays. Marīci is outstanding among the winds.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
Among the twelve Adityas I am Vāmana (viṣṇu). Among illuminators, I am the sun whose rays spread throughout the universe (aṁśumān-having rays). Among the forty-nine Maruts, I am Marīci. I am the moon, who showers nectar, the lord of the constellations. In these verses the genitive case is used to indicate an outstanding member of a group ( eg. Vāmana among Adityas), and sometimes to indicate a relationship (eg. lord of the constellations).