Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.10.21

yadātmani nirālokam

ātmānaḿ ca didṛkṣataḥ

nirbhinne hy akṣiṇī tasya

jyotiś cakṣur guṇa-grahaḥ

SYNONYMS

yadā — while; ātmani — unto Himself; nirālokam — without any light; ātmānam — His own transcendental body; ca — also other bodily forms; didṛkṣataḥ — desired to look upon; nirbhinne — due to being sprouted; hi — for; akṣiṇī — of the eyes; tasya — of Him; jyotiḥ — the sun; cakṣuḥ — the eyes; guṇa-grahaḥ — the power of seeing.

TRANSLATION

Thus when everything existed in darkness, the Lord desired to see Himself and all that was created. Then the eyes, the illuminating god Sun, the power of vision and the object of sight all became manifested.

PURPORT

The universe is by nature dense darkness, and therefore the total creation is called tamas, or darkness. The night is the real feature of the universe, for then one cannot see anything, including oneself. The Lord, out of His causeless mercy, first desired to see Himself and all the creation as well, and thus the sun became manifested, the power of vision for all living entities became possible, and the objects of vision were also manifested. This means that the whole phenomenal world became visible after the creation of the sun.

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