Chapter X · Śloka 21
आदित्यानामहं विष्णुर्ज्योतिषां रविरंशुमान् |
मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मि नक्षत्राणामहं शशी ||
मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मि नक्षत्राणामहं शशी ||
ādityānām ahaṃ viṣṇur jyotiṣāṃ ravir aṃśumān |
marīcir marutām asmi nakṣatrāṇām ahaṃ śaśī ||
marīcir marutām asmi nakṣatrāṇām ahaṃ śaśī ||
Among the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu; among lights I am the radiant sun; among the Maruts I am Marīci; among the stars I am the moon.
Krishna now begins the catalogue proper, moving through celestial hierarchies: among each class of being He is the supreme exemplar — the most luminous, the most powerful, the most sovereign.