Shloka 21
आदित्यकर्म, त्रयीमयी वैष्णवी शक्तिः, सवितुरन्तर्यामी
The Sun’s Function and Vishnu’s Vedic Śakti within Savitṛ
पितृदेवमनुष्यादीन् स सदाप्याययन् प्रभुः परिवर्तत्य् अहोरात्रकारणं सविता द्विज
pitṛdevamanuṣyādīn sa sadāpyāyayan prabhuḥ parivartaty ahorātrakāraṇaṃ savitā dvija
Nourishing without cease the Pitṛs, the gods, human beings, and the rest, that sovereign Lord—Savitṛ, the Sun—turns the wheel of time itself, becoming the very cause of day and night, O twice-born one.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; ‘dvija’ as a respectful address within the discourse)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Sūrya as the nourisher of beings and the causal regulator of day-night time
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Sūrya, empowered by the Lord, continually nourishes all classes of beings and turns the wheel of time as the cause of day and night.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Align daily discipline (dina-caryā), gratitude, and ethical order with the rhythm of day and night; treat time as sacred stewardship rather than mere consumption.
Vishishtadvaita: Temporal order is a purposeful administration of Nārāyaṇa through cosmic offices (like Sūrya), integrating immanence with divine governance.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse presents the Sun as the sustaining force that nourishes all classes of beings and as the immediate cause of the alternation of day and night—an expression of cosmic order.
He links ahorātra (day-night) directly to the Sun’s ‘turning’ (parivartana), framing time’s daily rhythm as a regulated cosmic function rather than a random phenomenon.
Even while naming Savitṛ as the functional cause, the Vishnu Purana’s theology treats such cosmic powers as operating under the supreme sovereignty of Vishnu—the ultimate ground of order and sustenance.