SB 8.5.34
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 34
- somaṁ mano yasya samāmananti
- divaukasāṁ yo balam andha āyuḥ
- īśo nagānāṁ prajanaḥ prajānāṁ
- prasīdatāṁ naḥ sa mahā-vibhūtiḥ
SYNONYMS
somam — the moon; manaḥ — the mind; yasya — of whom (of the Supreme Personality of Godhead); samāmananti — they say; divaukasām — of the denizens of the upper planetary systems; yaḥ — who; balam — the strength; andhaḥ — the food grains; āyuḥ — the duration of life; īśaḥ — the Supreme Lord; nagānām — of the trees; prajanaḥ — the source of breeding; prajānām — of all living entities; prasīdatām — may He be pleased; naḥ — upon us; saḥ — that Supreme Personality of Godhead; mahā-vibhūtiḥ — the source of all opulences.
TRANSLATION
Soma, the moon, is the source of food grains, strength and longevity for all the demigods. He is also the master of all vegetation and the source of generation for all living entities. As stated by learned scholars, the moon is the mind of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all opulences, be pleased with us.
PURPORT
Soma, the predominating deity of the moon, is the source of food grains and therefore the source of strength even for the celestial beings, the demigods. He is the vital force for all vegetation. Unfortunately, modern so-called scientists, who do not fully understand the moon, describe the moon as being full of deserts. Since the moon is the source for our vegetation, how can the moon be a desert? The moonshine is the vital force for all vegetation, and therefore we cannot possibly accept that the moon is a desert.