TEXT 36
yac-caksur asit taranir deva-yanam
trayimayo brahmana esa dhisnyam
dvaram ca mukter amrtam ca mrtyuh
prasidatam nah sa maha-vibhutih
SYNONYMS
yat—that which; caksuh—eye; asit—became; taranih—the sun-god; deva-yanam—the predominating deity for the path of deliverance for the demigods; trayi-mayah—for the sake of guidance in karma-kanda Vedic knowledge; brahmanah—of the supreme truth; esah—this; dhisnyam—the place for realization; dvaram ca—as well as the gateway; mukteh—for liberation; amrtam—the path of eternal life; ca—as well as; mrtyuh—the cause of death; prasidatam—may He be pleased; nah—upon us; sah—that Supreme Personality of Godhead; maha-vibhutih—the all-powerful.
TRANSLATION
The sun-god marks the path of liberation, which is called arciradi-vartma. He is the chief source for understanding of the Vedas, he is the abode where the Absolute Truth can be worshiped, He is the gateway to liberation, and he is the source of eternal life as well as the cause of death. The sun-god is the eye of the Lord. May that Supreme Lord, who is supremely opulent, be pleased with us.
PURPORT
The sun-god is considered to be the chief of the demigods. He is also considered to be the demigod who watches the northern side of the universe. He gives help for understanding the Vedas. As confirmed in Brahma-samhita (5.52):
“The sun, full of infinite effulgence, is the king of all the planets and the image of the good soul. The sun is like the eye of the Supreme Lord. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, in pursuance of whose order the sun performs his journey, mounting the wheel of time.” The sun is actually the eye of the Lord. In the Vedic mantras it is said that unless the Supreme Personality of Godhead sees, no one can see. Unless there is sunlight, no living entity on any planet can see. Therefore the sun is considered to be the eye of the Supreme Lord. That is confirmed here by the words yac-caksur asit and in the Brahma-samhita by the words yac-caksur esa savita. The word savita means the sun-god.

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