Devanagari
यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम् ।
यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम् ॥ १२ ॥
Verse text
yad āditya-gataṁ tejo
jagad bhāsayate ’khilam
yac candramasi yac cāgnau
tat tejo viddhi māmakam
Synonyms
yat
—
that which
;
āditya-gatam
—
in the sunshine
;
tejaḥ
—
splendor
;
jagat
—
the whole world
;
bhāsayate
—
illuminates
;
akhilam
—
entirely
;
yat
—
that which
;
candramasi
—
in the moon
;
yat
—
that which
;
ca
—
also
;
agnau
—
in fire
;
tat
—
that
;
tejaḥ
—
splendor
;
viddhi
—
understand
;
māmakam
—
from Me.
Translation
The splendor of the sun, which dissipates the darkness of this whole world, comes from Me. And the splendor of the moon and the splendor of fire are also from Me.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
12. Know that the light of the sun, moon and fire, which illuminates this universe, is My light.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
12. Know that the light of the sun, moon and fire, which illuminates this universe, is My light.
Purport
The unintelligent cannot understand how things are taking place. But one can begin to be established in knowledge by understanding what the Lord explains here. Everyone sees the sun, moon, fire and electricity. One should simply try to understand that the splendor of the sun, the splendor of the moon, and the splendor of electricity or fire are coming from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In such a conception of life, the beginning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, lies a great deal of advancement for the conditioned soul in this material world. The living entities are essentially the parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, and He is giving herewith the hint how they can come back to Godhead, back to home.
From this verse we can understand that the sun is illuminating the whole solar system. There are different universes and solar systems, and there are different suns, moons and planets also, but in each universe there is only one sun. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.21) , the moon is one of the stars ( nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī ). Sunlight is due to the spiritual effulgence in the spiritual sky of the Supreme Lord. With the rise of the sun, the activities of human beings are set up. They set fire to prepare their foodstuff, they set fire to start the factories, etc. So many things are done with the help of fire. Therefore sunrise, fire and moonlight are so pleasing to the living entities. Without their help no living entity can live. So if one can understand that the light and splendor of the sun, moon and fire are emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, then one’s Kṛṣṇa consciousness will begin. By the moonshine, all the vegetables are nourished. The moonshine is so pleasing that people can easily understand that they are living by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Without His mercy there cannot be sun, without His mercy there cannot be moon, and without His mercy there cannot be fire, and without the help of sun, moon and fire, no one can live. These are some thoughts to provoke Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the conditioned soul.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Whatever the jīva attains in his bound state, I, being the essence of the sun, moon and other objects, supply that. This is explained in three verses. The light situated in the sun, rising in the morning on Udaya Parvata, illuminates the world in order to cause action for the attaining present and future enjoyment. That light, and all light (akhilam) that is in the moon and fire, belong to Me alone. What are known as the sun, moon and fire, are actually Me. Know that these are My vibhūtis.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
I alone accomplish the enjoyment for My aṁśa, the jīva, who is attached to the material world, and I alone accomplish the liberation for the jīva desiring freedom from the material world. This is explained in four verses.
Know that the light situated in the sun, in the moon and in fire, which illuminates the whole universe, belongs to Me. Actions for attaining jīva’s enjoyment according to his karma are accomplished by the light of the sun which has risen and the fire which is blazing. These actions are causes of happiness and destroy darkness and lethargy for the jīva. When the moon rises, there is nourishment of herbs, dissipation of heat and pain, and relaxation in the moonlight. The light which produces these effects in the sun, moon and fire is My vibhūti of light.
Surrender Unto Me
They see the sun but they can't understand that it comes from Krsna.
Here we hear more opulences of Krsna. Why Krsna has told these specific opulences? ‑ Because we are completely dependent on the sun, on the moon, on fire, which means that we are completely dependent on Krsna, but we see all those things separated from Him. So Krsna here choose those opulences on which we are completely dependent on.