SB 10.85.7

SB 10.85.7

Devanagari

कान्तिस्तेज: प्रभा सत्ता चन्द्राग्‍न्यर्कर्क्षविद्युताम् । यत् स्थैर्यं भूभृतां भूमेर्वृत्तिर्गन्धोऽर्थतो भवान् ॥ ७ ॥

Verse text

kāntis tejaḥ prabhā sattā candrāgny-arkarkṣa-vidyutām yat sthairyaṁ bhū-bhṛtāṁ bhūmer vṛttir gandho ’rthato bhavān

Synonyms

kāntiḥ the attractive glow ; tejaḥ brilliance ; prabhā luminosity ; sattā and particular existence ; candra of the moon ; agni fire ; arka the sun ; ṛkṣa the stars ; vidyutām and lightning ; yat which ; sthairyam permanence ; bhū bhṛtām — of mountains ; bhūmeḥ of the earth ; vṛttiḥ the quality of sustaining ; gandhaḥ fragrance ; arthataḥ in truth ; bhavān Yourself .

Translation

The glow of the moon, the brilliance of fire, the radiance of the sun, the twinkling of the stars, the flash of lightning, the permanence of mountains and the aroma and sustaining power of the earth — all these are actually You.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The glow of the moon, the brilliance of fire, the radiance of the sun, the twinkling of the stars, the flash of lightning, the permanence of mountains and the aroma and sustaining power of the earth—all these are actually You. KB 10.85.7 “My dear Lord, the shining of the moon, the heat of fire, the rays of the sun, the glittering of the stars, and the electric lightning, which are all manifested as very powerful, as well as the gravity of the mountains and the energy and fragrance of the earth—all are different manifestations of You.

Purport

Śrī Vasudeva, in telling Kṛṣṇa that He is the essence of the sun, moon, stars, lightning and fire, is only reiterating the opinion of scripture, both śruti and smṛti. The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.14), for example, states: na tatra sūryo bhāti na candra-tārakaṁ nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto ’yam agniḥ tam eva bhāntam anu bhāti sarvaṁ tasya bhāsā sarvam idaṁ vibhāti “There [in the spiritual sky] the sun does not shine, nor does the moon, the stars or lightning as we know them, what to speak of ordinary fire. It is by the reflection of the spiritual sky’s effulgence that everything else gives light, and thus through its radiance this entire universe becomes luminous.” And in Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā (15.12), the Supreme Lord says: yad āditya-gataṁ tejo jagad bhāsayate ’khilam yac candramasi yac cāgnau tat tejo viddhi māmakam “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 also come from Me.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"Whatever sakti any object has is your energy." That is shown in this verse. The beauty or pleasantness (kantih) of moon, constellations and lightening is famous. It also applies to the sun and fire during cold times, and to the sun during rising and setting. Tejah has the quality of untouchability, exhibited in all items. Prabha means the ability to reveal itself at a great distance. All of these items have prabha and satta (luminosity). Factually these are all you. The sruti says, "There the sun moon and stars do not shine, nor lightening or fire. They shine after he appears. By his light they shine." Smrti (Gita) says, "Know that the light of the sun, the mon and fire are all mine." Yat should be applied to all the items with appropriate change of gender. "Whatever (yat) steadiness is in the mountain, whatever (yat) power to support living entities (vrtti) and fragrance are in the earth are you. They are your energy."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The powers of the Lord are described in five verses. The word yat is understood with each item with change of gender. The glow which exists in the moon and the brilliance which exists in fire are you. The word bhavān is used out of respect. After this, Vasudeva uses the word tvam out of great devotion. Then again he uses the word bhavān to interrupt his devotion. The power of the strong comes from the śakti of tejas. This was stated in the Third Canto by Kapila. This also included to power to cook. The other items should be similarly understood. The śakti of earth is represented by mountains. The dhāraṇa-śakti or supporting energy of the earth and mountains is you. They are you because the śaktis in the cause and the effect are non-different. Their śakti arises from you śakti. This should be understood in the other statements also.