10.21 AdhithyAnAm aham vishNur

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Chapter 10

<< Chapter 10 verse 20

SlOkam – Original

AdhithyAnAm aham vishNur jyOthishAm ravir amSumAn |
marIchir maruthAm asmi nakshhathrANAm aham SaSI ||

word-by-word meaning

AdhithyAnam – among the 12 Adhithyas (sons of adhithi)
vishNu – (the best) one who is named vishNu
aham – I am
jyOthishAm – among the luminous objects
amSumAn ravi: – sun which has rays
(aham – I am);
maruthAm – among the maruthas (winds)
marIchi: – marIchi (which is the best one)
asmi – (I) have become
nakshathrANAm – among the stars
SaSI – moon
aham – I am

Simple Translation

Among the 12 Adhithyas (sons of adhithi), I am (the best) one who is named vishNu; among the luminous objects I am the sun which has rays; among the maruthas (winds), I am marIchi (which is the best one); among the stars, I am the moon.

Rendering based on ALkoNdavilli gOvindhAchArya swAmy’s English translation of gIthA bhAshyam

‘Of the Ādityas I am Vishṇu: of the luminous orbs, the radiant Sun; of the Maruts, I am Marīchi: of the stars I am the Moon.’

Of the Adityas, who are twelve[1. Vish: Pur: (1) Dhātṛi (2) Aryamā (3) Mitra (4) Varuṇa (5) Indra, (6) Vivasvān, (7) Pūshan, (8)
Parjanya, (9) Amśu, (10) Bhāga, (11) Tvashtṛi (12) Vishṇu.] in number, the chief one bearing the name Vishṇu is Myself.

Of the shining lights in the Universe, I am the Solar group. Of the Maruts[2. The Seven Maruts are: (1) Āvaha (2) Pravaha (3) Nivaha (4) Paravaha (5) Udvaha (6) Samvaha (7) Parivaha (=Marīchi)]-, the chief, by name Marīchi is Myself.

I am the Moon of the asterisms. The genetive case ‘of’ here is not used as specifying one out of many, but as one over all; Moon in the present instance being the Lord over all the stars; as exemplified again in ‘I am the intelligence of beings’ (Gītā: X-22) where, it means that what exists as intelligence in beings as apart from beings, is Myself.

>> Chapter 10 verse 22

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