Text 5]
The Structure of the Universe
279
dharma ;  brahmaṇaḥ —of the Supreme Brahman;  amṛtasya —of the auspicious result;  ca —and;  mṛtyoḥ —of death (the inauspicious result);  ca —and;  sūryam —the demigod Sūrya;  ātmānam —the Supersoul or origin of all souls;  īmahi —we approach for shelter;  iti —thus.
TRANSLATION
[This is the mantra by which the inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa worship the Supreme Lord.] Let us take shelter of the sun-god, who is a reflection of Lord Viṣṇu, the all-expanding Supreme Personality of Godhead, the oldest of all persons. Viṣṇu is the only worshipable Lord. He is the Vedas, He is religion, and He is the origin of all auspicious and inauspicious results.
PURPORT
Lord Viṣṇu is even the Supreme Lord of death, as confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā  ( mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham ). There are two kinds of activity—auspicious and inauspicious—and both are controlled by Lord Viṣṇu. Inauspicious activities are said to be behind Lord Viṣṇu, whereas auspicious activities stand before Him. The auspicious and the inauspicious exist throughout the entire world, and Lord Viṣṇu is the controller of them both.
In regard to this verse, Śrīla Madhvācārya says:
sūrya-somāgni-vārīśa- vidhātṛṣu yathā-kramam plakṣādi-dvīpa-saṁsthāsu sthitaṁ harim upāsate
There are many lands, fields, mountains and oceans throughout the creation, and everywhere the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped by His different names.
Śrīla Vīrarāghava Ācārya explains this verse of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  as follows. The original cause of the cosmic manifestation must be the oldest person and must therefore be beyond material transformations. He is the enjoyer of all auspicious activities and is the cause of conditional life and also liberation. The demigod Sūrya, who is categorized as a very