Devanagari
यच्चक्षुरासीत् तरणिर्देवयानं
त्रयीमयो ब्रह्मण एष धिष्ण्यम् ।
द्वारं च मुक्तेरमृतं च मृत्यु:
प्रसीदतां न: स महाविभूति: ॥ ३६ ॥
Verse text
yac-cakṣur āsīt taraṇir deva-yānaṁ
trayīmayo brahmaṇa eṣa dhiṣṇyam
dvāraṁ ca mukter amṛtaṁ ca mṛtyuḥ
prasīdatāṁ naḥ sa mahā-vibhūtiḥ
Synonyms
yat
—
that which
;
cakṣuḥ
—
eye
;
āsīt
—
became
;
taraṇiḥ
—
the sun-god
;
deva
—
yānam — the predominating deity for the path of deliverance for the demigods
;
trayī
—
mayaḥ — for the sake of guidance in karma-kāṇḍa Vedic knowledge
;
brahmaṇaḥ
—
of the supreme truth
;
eṣaḥ
—
this
;
dhiṣṇyam
—
the place for realization
;
dvāram ca
—
as well as the gateway
;
mukteḥ
—
for liberation
;
amṛtam
—
the path of eternal life
;
ca
—
as well as
;
mṛtyuḥ
—
the cause of death
;
prasīdatām
—
may He be pleased
;
naḥ
—
upon us
;
saḥ
—
that Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
mahā
—
vibhūtiḥ — the all-powerful .
Translation
The sun-god marks the path of liberation, which is called arcirādi-vartma. He is the chief source for understanding of the Vedas, he is the abode where the Absolute Truth can be worshiped, he is the gateway to liberation, and he is the source of eternal life as well as the cause of death. The sun-god is the eye of the Lord. May that Supreme Lord, who is supremely opulent, be pleased with us.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
May the Lord, who possesses great vibhūtis, whose eye is the sun, the deity presiding over the path of liberation, which is the embodiment of the three Vedas, which is the place of worship, the door to liberation, immortality and death, be pleased with us!
The sun (taraṇiḥ) represents the path of liberation (deva-yānam). The sun is a guiding deity on the path of liberation. The sun is the three Vedas (trayīmayaḥ). Śruti says saiṣā trayi eva vidyā tapati: the sun shines as the three Vedas. (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 10.5.2.2.) The sun is the place for worship (brahmaṇaḥ dhiṣṇyam). Śruti says ya eṣo ‘ntar ādityo hiraṇmayaḥ puruṣaḥ: the golden form of the Lord resides within the sun. The sun is the door to liberation since it is on the deva-yāna, the path of liberation. It is immortality, or heavenly since it is a pure planet based on piety. It is death because it personifies time.
Purport
The sun-god is considered to be the chief of the demigods. He is also considered to be the demigod who watches the northern side of the universe. He gives help for understanding the
Vedas.
As confirmed in
Brahma-saṁhitā
(5.52)
:
yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ
rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ
yasyājṣayā bhramati saṁbhṛta-kāla-cakro
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
“The sun, full of infinite effulgence, is the king of all the planets and the image of the good soul. The sun is like the eye of the Supreme Lord. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, in pursuance of whose order the sun performs his journey, mounting the wheel of time.” The sun is actually the eye of the Lord. In the Vedic
mantras
it is said that unless the Supreme Personality of Godhead sees, no one can see. Unless there is sunlight, no living entity on any planet can see. Therefore the sun is considered to be the eye of the Supreme Lord. That is confirmed here by the words
yac-cakṣur āsīt
and in the
Brahma-saṁhitā
by the words
yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā.
The word
savitā
means the sun-god.