यौ धर्मौ जगतां नेत्रौ यत्र सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम्।
आदित्यचन्द्रौ ग्रहणमभ्युपेतौ महाबलौ॥
yau dharmau jagatāṁ netrau yatra sarvaṁ pratiṣṭhitam
āditya-candrau grahaṇam abhyupetau mahā-balau
yau dharmau = propagate dharma; jagatām = the worlds; netrau = they lead 1; yatra = on them; sarvam = everything; pratiṣṭhitam = is founded; āditya-candrau = the sun and the moon; grahaṇam = eclipses; abhyupetau = [still] they undergo; mahā-balau = they have great strength.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: dharmau dharma-pravartakau.
2 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: netrau netārau.
1 They cause time to be measured—this is how they bring about divisions of time. Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: kāla-paricchedādi-mukhena jagataḥ pravartakau.
2 “Eye” refers to that with which we can see. Since the sun and moon provide illumination, without which we cannot see any object, they are referred to as the ultimate eyes of everyone.
The sun and moon are said to propagate dharma because they witness all dhārmika activities. They are said to lead the worlds because they bring about the divisions of time.1 [Jagatāṁ netrau also means “they are the eyes of the world”] since they reveal [the existence and nature of] objects [in the world] for everyone.2 Everything is founded on them, that is, everyone’s existence and functioning is dependent on the sun and moon because the sun is the cause of rains and the moon is the cause of vegetables. The scripture states:
ādityāj jāyate vṛṣṭis tato ’nnam abhijāyate
“Rain comes because of the sun. Grains grow because of rain.”
“They undergo eclipses” means “They are eclipsed by Rāhu and Ketu.”
Lakṣmaṇa then thought, “Why should I elaborate on this?” And so he summarized [what He wanted to say] in the next verse.