Chapter 15, Verse 12
यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम् | यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम् ||१५-१२||
yadādityagataṃ tejo jagadbhāsayate.akhilam . yaccandramasi yaccāgnau tattejo viddhi māmakam ||15-12||
Meaning
15.12 That light which residing in the sun illumines the whole world, that which is in the moon and in the fire know that light to be Mine.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Having described the Supreme as a self-luminous abode in verse 6, Krishna now turns to show His radiance pervading the world we already know. The light of the sun that illuminates the entire universe, the gentle glow of the moon, the brightness of fire — all of these, He says, are His own tejas, His divine splendor. The luminaries we depend on are not independent sources; they are vessels through which the one supreme light shines.
This teaching transforms ordinary experience into worship. Every time we feel the warmth of sunlight, walk by moonlight, or sit before a flame, we are encountering a reflection of the Divine. Krishna is teaching the seeker to read the visible world as a continuous revelation of the invisible Lord. The world is not separate from God; it is shot through with His presence. To know this is to live in constant remembrance, finding the sacred not only in meditation but in the very light that fills our days.
💡 Key Takeaway
The light of sun, moon, and fire is a single divine radiance — God's splendor lighting the world.
Related Verses
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः | तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये | यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ||१५-४||
tataḥ padaṃ tatparimārgitavyaṃ yasmingatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ . tameva cādyaṃ puruṣaṃ prapadye . yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī ||15-4||
15.4 Then That goal should be sought for, whither having gone none returns again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha Whence streamed forth the ancient activity or energy.
न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः | यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ||१५-६||
na tadbhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ . yadgatvā na nivartante taddhāma paramaṃ mama ||15-6||
15.6 Neither doth the sun illumine there nor the moon, nor the fire; having gone thither they return not; that is My supreme abode.
गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा | पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः ||१५-१३||
gāmāviśya ca bhūtāni dhārayāmyahamojasā . puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ ||15-13||
15.13 Permeating the earth I support all beings by (My) energy; and having become the watery moon I nourish all herbs.