Bhagavad Gita 10.21
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 21 of 42
आदित्यानामहं विष्णुर्ज्योतिषां रविरंशुमान् | मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मि नक्षत्राणामहं शशी ||२१||
ādityānām ahaṃ viṣṇur jyotiṣāṃ ravir aṃśumān | marīcir marutām asmi nakṣatrāṇām ahaṃ śaśī || 21 ||
Of the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu; among lights the radiant sun; among Maruts, Marīci; among stars, the moon.
Word by word (3)
- ādityānām ahaṃ viṣṇuḥ
- — Among the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu · ādityānām = among the Ādityas (genitive plural of Āditya = sons of Aditi; the 12 solar deities of the months — Viṣṇu, Śakra/Indra, Aryaman, Dhātṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, Vivasvān, Savitṛ, Mitra, Varuṇa, Aṃśa, Bhaga). ahaṃ = I. viṣṇuḥ = Viṣṇu (the 'pervader' — from viś/viṣ = to enter, to pervade; Viṣṇu = 'the all-pervading one'; one of the 12 Ādityas, later the supreme deity of Vaiṣṇava tradition). Among the 12 solar gods (Ādityas), the divine identifies with Viṣṇu — the Pervader. This is not 'Krishna claiming to be Viṣṇu' in the Vaiṣṇava sectarian sense but rather 'the divine's most concentrated expression among the solar gods is in Viṣṇu, the one whose essence is pervasion.' The pervasion quality (vi-ṣṇu = all-pervader) mirrors V10.20's sarva-bhūtāśaya-sthitaḥ (seated in ALL hearts) — Viṣṇu is vibhūti because he most clearly embodies the all-pervading quality.
- jyotiṣāṃ raviḥ aṃśumān
- — Among luminaries, the radiant sun · jyotiṣāṃ = among the luminaries, lights (genitive plural of jyotis = light, luminary — from jval = to blaze; jyotiṣāṃ = 'among the shining ones, among lights'). raviḥ = the sun (ravi = the sun — one of the names of Sūrya, the solar deity). aṃśumān = radiant, full of rays (aṃśu = ray/beam; aṃśumān = 'one with rays, radiant, beaming' — the epithet emphasizes the sun's ray-giving quality, its active dispelling of darkness). jyotiṣāṃ raviḥ aṃśumān = 'among lights, the sun with rays.' The sun (raviḥ) is the most prominent among all luminaries (jyotiṣāṃ) — it is the light that enables all other things to be seen. The SW translation: 'the radiant Sun.' The sun among lights mirrors Viṣṇu among Ādityas: among all things that spread light, the greatest concentration is in the source of light itself. In meditation terms: the inner ātman (V10.20) is the sun within; all lesser awarenesses are the lesser luminaries.
- marīciḥ marutām asmi nakṣatrāṇām ahaṃ śaśī
- — Among Maruts I am Marīci; among nakṣatras, the moon · marīciḥ = Marīci (one of the seven great rishis/mānasa-putra of Brahmā; also used as a name of one of the 49 Maruts — the most luminous among the wind-gods; SW: 'Marichi is one of the 49 Maruts'); marutām = among the Maruts (genitive plural of Marut = storm/wind deity; the Maruts are the 49 wind-gods, attendants of Indra and Vāyu); asmi = I am. nakṣatrāṇām = among the nakṣatras (genitive plural of nakṣatra = asterism, constellation, lunar mansion — the 27/28 nakṣatras of the Indian lunar zodiac that the moon passes through each month; more broadly 'among the stars'). ahaṃ = I. śaśī = the moon (śaśa = hare; śaśī = 'the one with the hare' — the Indian tradition sees a hare in the moon's markings; śaśī = the moon, here the chief luminary among the nakṣatras). The moon (śaśī) is the most prominent among the nakṣatras because it gives them their structure — the 27/28 nakṣatras are precisely the moon's stations. Among wind-gods, the divine is in the most luminous (Marīci = the shining one). The pattern: excellence within a category = the divine's concentrated expression.
Among the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu; among lights, the radiant sun; among the wind-gods I am Marīci; and among the stars, the moon.
A modern analogy
Consider a river system: every river carries water, but the Amazon is the one where the water's quality of 'river-ness' (volume, biodiversity, reach) is most concentrated. This verse says: 'Among solar gods, I am like the Amazon of solar gods — the one in which the solar divine quality is most concentrated.' This is the principle of the entire vibhūti (divine glory) catalogue: not 'only I am real' but 'I am where the quality is most concentrated and therefore most recognizable.'
What it does NOT mean
The vibhūti catalogue is not a ranked list implying non-vibhūti items are non-divine. The divine has already established that there is no end to its extent — that the most it can give is the most prominent of its glories, an infinite nature having no boundary. And the previous verse established the ātman seated in the heart of ALL beings. The glories that begin here and run to the single fragment that upholds all are the prominent (prādhānyataḥ) concentrations — not the divine's only locations. The non-vibhūti Ādityas (the eleven others than Viṣṇu) are also divine expressions. The vibhūtis mark the concentrations; the divine pervades all.
Take with you
- This verse's Viṣṇu-among-Ādityas is a contemplation starting point: Viṣṇu = the pervader. In your meditation today, notice where the quality of 'pervasion' is most present in your experience. Is it in the air you breathe (which pervades your whole body)? In awareness itself (which pervades all thoughts)? Connecting this verse's Viṣṇu to something in your direct experience brings the glory from ancient cosmology into present recognition.
- This verse's sun-among-lights is a daily mindfulness practice: each morning when you see sunlight (or feel it), pause and recognize: the divine is most concentrated in this light. This one-second recognition answers concretely the earlier question — how shall I always meditate on You, and in what forms? The sun is not worshipped as an idol but recognized as a vibhūti — a concentrated point of divine presence.
- This verse opens the outer vibhūti catalogue: the previous verse was the inner ātman; this verse onward turns to the outer world. Together they form a complete map: inner (the ātman seated in the heart) and outer (sun, mind, mountains, every excellence) — the divine pervades both. Practice: when going inward (meditation), use the ātman seated within; when going outward (daily life), use these outer glories. The map is complete.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Of the Adityas, I am Vishnu; of luminaries, the radiant Sun; of the winds, I am Marichi; of the asterisms, the Moon. [4]
Among Adityas I am Vishnu, and among luminous bodies I am the sun. I am Mrichi among the Maruts, and among heavenly mansions I am the moon. [6]
Vishnu of the Adityas I am, those Lords of Light; / Maritchi of the Maruts, the Kings of Storm and Blight; / By day I gleam, the golden Sun of burning cloudless Noon; / By Night, amid the asterisms I glide, the dappled Moon! [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I am the ātman, O Guḍākeśa, seated in the heart of all beings — their beginning, middle, and end.
I shall tell you My foremost divine manifestations, O best of Kurus — My nature's extent is without end.
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
Verse 21 of 42 · back to Chapter 10