Shloka 22
आदित्यकर्म, त्रयीमयी वैष्णवी शक्तिः, सवितुरन्तर्यामी
The Sun’s Function and Vishnu’s Vedic Śakti within Savitṛ
सूर्यरश्मिः सुषुम्णो यस् तर्पितस् तेन चन्द्रमाः कृष्णपक्षे ऽमरैः शश्वत् पीयते वै सुधामयः
sūryaraśmiḥ suṣumṇo yas tarpitas tena candramāḥ kṛṣṇapakṣe 'maraiḥ śaśvat pīyate vai sudhāmayaḥ
That solar ray called Suṣumnā, when it is satisfied and filled, thereby nourishes the Moon; and in the dark fortnight the Moon—made of nectar—is continually drunk by the immortals, the gods.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The Suṣumnā solar ray’s nourishment of the Moon and the gods’ drinking of lunar nectar in the dark fortnight
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: The Suṣumnā ray of the Sun nourishes the Moon, and during the kṛṣṇa-pakṣa the devas continuously drink the Moon’s nectar, accounting for its waning.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use lunar cycles as a contemplative aid—observe waxing/waning as a reminder of dependence, offering, and replenishment in spiritual life.
Vishishtadvaita: Celestial processes are purposeful, intelligible operations within the Lord’s ordered cosmos, integrating ritual symbolism (soma) with real cosmography.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
Suṣumnā is described as a specific solar ray/channel whose replenishment is said to nourish the Moon, linking solar power to the lunar cycle within the Purāṇic model of cosmic order.
Parāśara explains that during the dark fortnight the Moon, understood as nectar-like (sudhāmaya), is continually ‘drunk’ by the devas—an image that accounts for the Moon’s decreasing brightness.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames such cosmic mechanisms as functioning under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty—astral movements and divine nourishment express an ordered universe sustained by the Supreme Reality.