यदात्मनि निरालोकम् आत्मानं च दिदृक्षतः ।
निर्भिन्ने ह्यक्षिणी तस्य ज्योतिश्चक्षुर्गुणग्रहः ॥ २१ ॥
nirbhinne hy aksini tasya
jyotis caksur guna-grahah
yada-while; atmani-unto Himself; niralokam-without any light; atmanam-His own transcendental body; ca-also other bodily forms; didrksatah-desired to look upon; nirbhinne-due to being sprouted; aksini-of the eyes; tasya-of Him; jyotih-the sun; caksuh-the eyes; guna-grahah-the power of seeing.
Thus when everything existed in darkness, the Lord desired to see Himself and all that was created. Then the eyes, the illuminating god Sun, the power of vision and the object of sight all became manifested.
The universe is by nature dense darkness, and therefore the total creation is called tamas or darkness. The night is the real feature of the universe, for then no one can see anything, including oneself. The Lord, out of His causeless mercy, first desired to see Himself and all the creation as well, and thus the sun became manifested, the power of vision of all living entities became possible, and the objects of vision were also manifested. This means the whole phenomenal world became visible after the creation of the sun.