Devanagari
तस्य दृग्भ्योऽभवत् पुत्र: सोमोऽमृतमय: किल ।
विप्रौषध्युडुगणानां ब्रह्मणा कल्पित: पति: ॥ ३ ॥
Verse text
tasya dṛgbhyo ’bhavat putraḥ
somo ’mṛtamayaḥ kila
viprauṣadhy-uḍu-gaṇānāṁ
brahmaṇā kalpitaḥ patiḥ
Synonyms
tasya
—
of him, Atri, the son of Brahmā
;
dṛgbhyaḥ
—
from the tears of jubilation from the eyes
;
abhavat
—
was born
;
putraḥ
—
a son
;
somaḥ
—
the moon-god
;
amṛta
—
mayaḥ — full of soothing rays
;
kila
—
indeed
;
vipra
—
of the brāhmaṇas
;
oṣadhi
—
of the drugs
;
uḍu
—
gaṇānām — and of the luminaries
;
brahmaṇā
—
by Lord Brahmā
;
kalpitaḥ
—
was appointed or designated
;
patiḥ
—
the supreme director .
Translation
From Atri’s tears of jubilation was born a son named Soma, the moon, who was full of soothing rays. Lord Brahmā appointed him the director of the brāhmaṇas, drugs and luminaries.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
From Atri's tears of jubilation was born a son named Soma, the moon, who was full of soothing rays. Brahmā appointed him the director of the brāhmaṇas, medicinal herbs and the stars.
Dṛgbhyaḥ means “from tears of joy.” Therefore the moon is composed of amṛta. Another version has dṛśaḥ.
atreḥ patny anasūyā trīṣ jajṣe suyaśasaḥ sutān
dattaṁ durvāsasaṁ somam ātmeśa-brahma-sambhavān
Anasūyā, the wife of Atri Muni, gave birth to three very famous sons—Soma, Dattātreya and Durvāsā. Soma was a partial representation of Brahmā, Dattātreya was a partial representation of Viṣṇu, and Durvāsā was a partial representation of Śiva. SB 4.1.15
Some say that Anasūyā again gave birth to the Moon through his tears. Others say that at the time of conception he impregnated his wife with his tears of joy. Others say that her son is called his son in this verse though he actually was born from her.
Purport
According to the Vedic description, Soma, the moon-god, was born from the mind of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (
candramā manaso jātaḥ
). But here we find that Soma was born from the tears in the eyes of Atri. This appears contradictory to the Vedic information, but actually it is not, for this birth of the moon is understood to have taken place in another millennium. When tears appear in the eyes because of jubilation, the tears are soothing. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says,
dṛgbhya ānandāśrubhya ata evāmṛtamayaḥ:
“Here the word
dṛgbhyaḥ
means ‘from tears of jubilation.’ Therefore the moon-god is called
amṛtamayaḥ,
‘full of soothing rays.’” In the Fourth Canto of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(4.1.15)
we find this verse:
atreḥ patny anasūyā trīṣ
jajṣe suyaśasaḥ sutān
dattaṁ durvāsasaṁ somam
ātmeśa-brahma-sambhavān
This verse describes that Anasūyā, the wife of Atri Ṛṣi, bore three sons — Soma, Durvāsā and Dattātreya. It is said that at the time of conception Anasūyā was impregnated by the tears of Atri.