FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.6.17

स्वधिष्ण्यं प्रतपन् प्राणो बहिश्च प्रतपत्यसौ । एवं विराजं प्रतपंस्तपत्यन्तर्बहि: पुमान् ॥ १७ ॥
sva-dhiṣṇyaṁ pratapan prāṇo
[sva-dhishnyam pratapan praano]
bahiś ca pratapaty asau
[bahish cha pratapaty asau]
evaṁ virājaṁ pratapaṁs
[evam viraajam pratapams]
tapaty antar bahiḥ pumān
[tapaty antar bahih pumaan]
sva-dhiṣṇyam — radiation pratapan — by expansion prāṇaḥ — living energy bahiḥ — external ca — also pratapati — illuminated asau — the sun evam — in the same way virājam — the universal form pratapan — by expansion of tapati — enlivens antaḥ — internally bahiḥ — externally pumān — the Supreme Personality.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sva-dhiṣṇyaṁ pratapan prāṇo
sva-dhiṣṇyam
radiation
pratapan
by expansion
prāṇaḥ
living energy
bahiś ca pratapaty asau
bahiḥ
external
ca
also
pratapati
illuminated
asau
the sun
evaṁ virājaṁ pratapaṁs
evam
in the same way
virājam
the universal form
pratapan
by expansion of
tapaty antar bahiḥ pumān
tapati
enlivens
antaḥ
internally
bahiḥ
externally
pumān
the Supreme Personality.
The sun illuminates both internally and externally by expanding its radiation; similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by expanding His universal form, maintains everything in the creation both internally and externally.

The universal form of the Lord, or the impersonal feature of the Lord known as the brahmajyoti, is clearly explained here and compared to the radiation of the sun. The sunshine may expand all over the universe, but the source of the sunshine, namely the sun planet or the deity known as Sūrya-nārāyaṇa, is the basis of such radiation. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Kṛṣṇa is the basis of the impersonal brahmajyoti radiation, or the impersonal feature of the Lord. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27) . So the universal form of the Lord is the secondary imagination of the impersonal form of the Lord, but the primary form of the Lord is Śyāmasundara, with two hands, playing on His eternal flute. Seventy-five percent of the expansive radiation of the Lord is manifested in the spiritual sky ( tripād-vibhūti ), and twenty-five percent of His personal radiation comprehends the entire expansion of the material universes. This is also explained and stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.42) . Thus the seventy-five-percent expansion of His radiation is called His internal energy, whereas the twenty-five-percent expansion is called the external energy of the Lord. The living entities, who are residents of the spiritual as well as the material expansions, are His marginal energy ( taṭasthā-śakti ), and they are at liberty to live in either of the energies, external or internal. Those who live within the spiritual expansion of the Lord are called liberated souls, whereas the residents of the external expansion are called the conditioned souls. We can just make an estimate of the number of the residents of the internal expansions in comparison with the number of residents in the external energy and may easily conclude that the liberated souls are far more numerous than the conditioned souls.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Just as the life air energizes the body inside and spreads its influence outside as well, the Lord energizes the universe inside and outside as well.
Commentary

An example is given. The life air energizes the interior of the body, and spreads its heat outside as well. The Lord situated in the universal form as the antaryāmī, energizes in the sense of empowering it with his jñāna, kriyā and dravya śaktis, and thus spreads his influence inside and outside as well.

The Lord maintains the world internally and externally just as the sun radiates light through space. The brahmajyoti is His radiation; Śyāmasundara is His original two-handed form. The impersonal is real but secondary; the Person is primary.
Reflection Questions
  • Am I content with the 'sunshine' alone, or do I want to know the Sun?
  • What in me resists meeting God as a Person rather than as light?
📝 My note

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