Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 46
The Six Dvīpas Beyond Jambūdvīpa and the Cosmic Boundary of Lokāloka
देवतिर्यङ्मनुष्याणां सरीसृपसवीरुधाम् । सर्वजीवनिकायानां सूर्य आत्मा दृगीश्वर: ॥ ४६ ॥
deva-tiryaṅ-manuṣyāṇāṁ sarīsṛpa-savīrudhām sarva-jīva-nikāyānāṁ sūrya ātmā dṛg-īśvaraḥ
半神、人間、獣、鳥、虫、爬虫、蔓草や樹木に至るまで、あらゆる生類は太陽神が太陽界から与える熱と光に依存している。さらに太陽の存在によってこそ万物は見ることができるゆえ、彼は視覚を司る主、ドリグ・イーシュヴァラと呼ばれる。
In this regard, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says, sūrya ātmā ātmatvenopāsyaḥ. The actual life and soul of all living entities within this universe is the sun. He is therefore upāsya, worshipable. We worship the sun-god by chanting the Gāyatrī mantra ( om bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur vareṇyaṁ bhargo devasya dhīmahi ). Sūrya is the life and soul of this universe, and there are innumerable universes for which a sun-god is the life and soul, just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the life and soul of the entire creation. We have information that Vairāja, Hiraṇyagarbha, entered the great, dull, material globe called the sun. This indicates that the theory held by so-called scientists that no one lives there is wrong. Bhagavad-gītā also says that Kṛṣṇa first instructed Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god ( imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam ). Therefore the sun is not vacant. It is inhabited by living entities, and the predominating deity is Vairāja, or Vivasvān. The difference between the sun and earth is that the sun is a fiery planet, but everyone there has a suitable body and can live there without difficulty.
FAQs
This verse states that the Sun (Sūrya) functions as the ātmā—life-sustaining principle—for all categories of beings, and as the divine controller of sight, enabling vision throughout creation.
In the cosmological description of the universe, Śukadeva explains how universal functions are governed by devatās; here Sūrya is identified as the presiding power behind vision and the vitality that supports living beings.
It encourages gratitude and reverence for the divine order behind nature—recognizing sunlight as sacred, life-supporting, and essential for clarity (both physical sight and disciplined living).