Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.20.44

mrite 'nda esha etasmin yad abhūt tato mārtanda iti vyapadeśah; hiranyagarbha iti yad dhiranyānda-samudbhavah

SYNONYMS

mrite — dead; ande — in the globe; eshah — this; etasmin — in this; yat — which; abhūt — entered personally at the time of creation; tatah — from that; mārtanda — Mārtanda; iti — thus; vyapadeśah — the designation; hiranya-garbhah — known as Hiranyagarbha; iti — thus; yat — because; hiranya-anda-samudbhavah — his material body was created from Hiranyagarbha.

TRANSLATION

The sun-god is also known as Vairāja, the total material body for all living entities. Because he entered this dull egg of the universe at the time of creation, he is also called Mārtanda. He is also known as Hiranyagarbha because he received his material body from Hiranyagarbha [Lord Brahmā].

PURPORT

The post of Lord Brahmā is meant for very highly elevated, spiritually advanced living beings. When such living beings are unavailable, Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, expands Himself as Lord Brahmā. This takes place very rarely. Consequently there are two kinds of Brahmās. Sometimes Brahmā is an ordinary living entity, and at other times Brahmā is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Brahmā spoken of here is an ordinary living being. Whether Brahmā is the Supreme Personality of Godhead or an ordinary living being, he is known as Vairāja Brahmā and Hiranyagarbha Brahmā. Therefore the sun-god is also accepted as Vairāja Brahmā.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness