Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 15, Verse 12
यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम्।यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम्।।
yad āditya-gataṁ tejo jagad bhāsayate ’khilam
yac candramasi yac cāgnau tat tejo viddhi māmakam
also searched as "yad aditya gatam tejo jagad bhasayate khilam"
Translation
Know that the brilliance which illumines the whole universe in the sun, the moon, and fire is Mine.
Vāṇi's rendering
The light in the sun that floods the whole world, the light in the moon and in fire — know it as mine.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यत्yad | that which |
| आदित्यगतम्āditya-gataṁ | residing in the sun, gone into the sun |
| तेजःtejo | light, blazing radiance (tejaḥ before j) |
| जगत्jagad | the world |
| भासयतेbhāsayate | illumines, makes visible |
| अखिलम्’khilam | entire, whole (akhilam, initial a elided after e) |
| यत्yac | that which (yat before c) |
| चन्द्रमसिcandramasi | in the moon |
| यत्yac | that which (yat before c) |
| चca | and |
| अग्नौagnau | in fire (joined as cāgnau) |
| तत्tat | that |
| तेजःtejo | light, radiance |
| विद्धिviddhi | know |
| मामकम्māmakam | mine, belonging to me |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 12 mean?
Krishna claims the light, not the lamps. The sun that floods the world, the moon that cools it, the fire on a hearth — their brilliance is one tejas, his own, appearing in different vessels. He is not listing possessions. He is teaching you to trace every brightness back past its holder to what is doing the shining.
What does yad aditya gatam tejo jagad bhasayate khilam mean?
That radiance which, having entered the sun, lights up the whole world. Āditya-gataṁ means gone into the sun, lodged there — the light is a guest, not a native. Krishna then adds the moon and fire, so that no source can be mistaken for the origin. All of it is borrowed.
Is Krishna saying he is the sun?
No. He is saying he is what the sun is doing. The disc is a body; the shining is his. This is why the verse gathers moon and fire alongside it — three unlike things, one tejas. Worship the shining wherever you find it, and you have not scattered your devotion at all.
How do I actually practise this verse?
Stop at any light today — a window, a candle, a screen — and let the attention travel through the object to the illumining itself. That takes a second. Do it often enough and the world stops being a collection of lit things and becomes one lighting, which Krishna has already told you is his.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
You have looked at the sun your whole life and never once asked whose light it was. Krishna does not say he made the sun. He says the shining itself — the thing that lets you see anything at all — is his. One brightness wearing many faces: the blaze at noon, the cool disc at night, the small flame on a wick. Arjuna is being taught to stop counting sources. Wherever there is light, there is only ever one light borrowing a lamp. Look up tonight. What falls on your face has a name, and it is not the moon's.