Devanagari
दिवि सूर्यसहस्रस्य भवेद्युगपदुत्थिता ।
यदि भा: सदृशी सा स्याद्भासस्तस्य महात्मन: ॥ १२ ॥
Verse text
divi sūrya-sahasrasya
bhaved yugapad utthitā
yadi bhāḥ sadṛśī sā syād
bhāsas tasya mahātmanaḥ
Synonyms
divi
—
in the sky
;
sūrya
—
of suns
;
sahasrasya
—
of many thousands
;
bhavet
—
there were
;
yugapat
—
simultaneously
;
utthitā
—
present
;
yadi
—
if
;
bhāḥ
—
light
;
sadṛśī
—
like that
;
sā
—
that
;
syāt
—
might be
;
bhāsaḥ
—
effulgence
;
tasya
—
of Him
;
mahā-ātmanaḥ
—
the great Lord.
Translation
If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into the sky, their radiance might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that universal form.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
12. If the splendor of a thousand suns rose simultaneously in the sky, that effulgence would be somewhat similar to the effulgence of this great form.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
12. If the splendor of a thousand suns rose simultaneously in the sky, that effulgence would be similar to one of the splendors in the effulgence of this great form.
Purport
What Arjuna saw was indescribable, yet Saṣjaya is trying to give a mental picture of that great revelation to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Neither Saṣjaya nor Dhṛtarāṣṭra was present, but Saṣjaya, by the grace of Vyāsa, could see whatever happened. Thus he now compares the situation, as far as it can be understood, to an imaginable phenomenon (i.e., thousands of suns).
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
If at one time the effulgence (bhāḥ) of a thousand suns arose, then it would be somewhat similar to the effulgence (bhāsaḥ) of the universal form (mahātmanaḥ).
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
This verse described the incomparable effulgence of that form. If the effulgence of a thousand suns rose in the sky at once, it would be similar to one of the splendors of this universal form (mahāṭmanaḥ) of the Lord. Optative tense is used to show supposition.
Here a metaphor called utprekṣa or poetic fancy is used, comparing the effulgence of a thousand suns to the astonishing nature of the object of comparison, the universal form. But since the comparison is deficient, what is suggested is that nothing could compare to this form’s effulgence. The verse is a continuation of the thought expressed previously in verse 9: He showed that form.
Surrender Unto Me
Because the magninimity or the greatness of the universal form was so wondrous and brilliant, unlimiting, all expanding, it is impossible to conceive of something like that. Here an example is given to give us some idea of the radiance of this form: 'If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into the sky'.