Shloka 6
आदित्यकर्म, त्रयीमयी वैष्णवी शक्तिः, सवितुरन्तर्यामी
The Sun’s Function and Vishnu’s Vedic Śakti within Savitṛ
मैत्रेय श्रूयताम् एतद् यद् भवान् परिपृच्छति यथा सप्तगणे ऽप्य् एकः प्राधान्येनाधिको रविः
maitreya śrūyatām etad yad bhavān paripṛcchati yathā saptagaṇe 'py ekaḥ prādhānyenādhiko raviḥ
Maitreya, listen to what you ask: even among the sevenfold host, the Sun alone stands foremost, surpassing the rest by his governing pre-eminence.
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Explanation of Sūrya’s pre-eminence among the sevenfold group and his governing role.
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative, explanatory
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Cosmic functions are distributed with hierarchy: among the sevenfold celestial agents, Sūrya is chief by governing priority.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Recognize legitimate hierarchy as functional responsibility (not mere status), and align personal duties accordingly.
Vishishtadvaita: Ordered plurality under a supreme order: differentiated roles are real and purposeful within the divinely structured cosmos.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
FAQs
It frames a cosmic plurality (a set of seven) while emphasizing that within that plurality a single governing principle can be foremost—here illustrated through the Sun’s primacy.
He answers Maitreya’s inquiry by using an analogy: even among multiple coordinated powers, one can be primary by function and authority—like Ravi among the seven.
The verse models a key Purāṇic idea: ordered sovereignty—many powers operate, yet a supreme principle governs; in broader Vishnu Purana theology, such supremacy ultimately belongs to Vishnu as the sustaining Lord of cosmic order.