Shloka 21
कुन्तीनन्दन! उन्हें युद्धके लिये तैयार देख सूर्यदेव ब्राह्मणका रूप धारण करके उनके पास आये और बोले--'ब्रह्मन! सूर्यने आपका क्या अपराध किया है? ।। आदत्ते रश्मिश्रि: सूर्यो दिवि तिष्ठंस्ततस्तत: । रसं द्वतं वै वर्षासु प्रवर्षति दिवाकर:,'सूर्यदेव तो आकाशमें स्थित होकर अपनी किरणों-द्वारा वसुधाका रस खींचते हैं और बरसातमें पुनः उसे बरसा देते हैं
kuntīnandana! tān yuddhāya sajjān dṛṣṭvā sūryadevo brāhmaṇarūpaṃ dhṛtvā teṣāṃ samīpam āgacchat, uvāca ca— “brāhman! sūryeṇa te kim aparāddham? ādattē raśmibhiḥ sūryo divi tiṣṭhaṃs tataḥ tataḥ; rasaṃ dṛtaṃ vai varṣāsu pravarṣati divākaraḥ.”
O son of Kuntī! Seeing them prepared for battle, the Sun-god assumed the form of a brāhmaṇa and approached them, saying: “Brāhmaṇa, what wrong has the Sun committed against you? Stationed in the sky, the Sun draws up the earth’s moisture by his rays, and in the rainy season the Day-maker pours that very essence back down as rain.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral logic of reciprocity and beneficence: the Sun ‘takes’ moisture only to return it as rain, sustaining the world. Therefore, judging or opposing such a benefactor is ethically questionable; one should discern the larger dharmic cycle behind apparent ‘taking.’
Bhīṣma narrates that, when the warriors were ready for battle, Sūrya approached them disguised as a brāhmaṇa and questioned why they regarded the Sun as an offender, explaining the Sun’s life-sustaining role in drawing up the earth’s moisture and raining it back in due season.