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Chapter 10 · 42 verses

विभूतियोगः

Vibhūti-yoga

The divine manifestations

Where might I recognise the divine in the world?

Arjuna wants to know where his attention can rest. Krishna answers with a world of recognitions: light, intelligence, mountains, rivers, memory, courage, and the life within every being.

What happens here

A turn in the
conversation.

Krishna continues because Arjuna delights in hearing and because he desires Arjuna's welfare. The teaching begins again from divine priority: neither gods nor great sages can fully explain the origin of the one from whom they arise. Human qualities and experiences, from understanding to fearlessness and from joy to pain, are then placed within that relation. The chapter's catalogue will be extensive, but its ground is established before the examples begin.

A brief account of devoted companionship follows. People whose minds and lives turn toward Krishna awaken one another through conversation and find delight in speaking of him. Krishna gives them the yoga of understanding and dispels ignorance through the lamp of knowledge. This is a reciprocal relation of attention and grace. Knowledge is neither detached information nor an achievement that the seeker can claim entirely as private property.

Arjuna responds by acknowledging Krishna's greatness and asking how to contemplate him continually. Which forms of being can direct attention toward him? The question turns an immense theological claim into a practical problem of remembrance. Krishna answers through foremost manifestations, while warning that their extent has no end. The list gives places to begin without pretending to be an inventory that could finish the divine.

The examples move among deities, natural phenomena, sacred learning, human capacities, creatures, seasons, and powers of rule. Some are immediately consoling; others, including death and gambling, disturb a merely attractive picture of divine presence. The closing verses explain how to read the whole series: whatever has splendour or power arises from a portion of Krishna's radiance, while the entire world is sustained by only a portion of him.

Krishna

I give understanding to those who turn toward me in love.

Arjuna

In which forms should I contemplate you? I want to hear more.

Krishna

I will name the foremost manifestations, though their extent has no end.

The Dialogue · An editorial account of the exchange

Chapter essence

The world's distinctive excellences can guide remembrance toward their source. Each recognition opens attention, but no catalogue of manifestations can contain the one who sustains them.

Key movements

Follow the
argument.

10.1–7

Before the list, the source

Krishna is presented as the origin of gods, sages, and the varied states of beings. The list of qualities includes patience, truth, restraint, non-harming, generosity, and contentment, alongside pleasure, pain, fear, and their opposites. This breadth matters. The chapter concerns the conditions of an entire world, not only a selection of uplifting experiences. Knowing the manifestations together with Krishna's power establishes unshakable yoga because the examples are understood through their source rather than collected as isolated wonders.

10.8–11

Understanding within a relationship

Those who recognize Krishna as the source worship with their inward being engaged. They speak together, teach one another, and find delight in the exchange. Krishna's response is described as the gift of a yoga of understanding and the removal of darkness through knowledge. The lamp image makes clear that devotion does not require knowledge to be extinguished. The relationship gives understanding its direction and support, while humility prevents the seeker from treating illumination as a possession earned by the ego alone.

10.12–18

Arjuna asks how to remember

Arjuna brings together what sages have said and what Krishna has disclosed. His assent leads to a further question rather than closing inquiry. He wants to know how continual contemplation can take form among particular things. The request is generous in scope and concrete in purpose. He asks to hear again because the teaching is not exhausted by one hearing. This movement preserves the literary intimacy of the dialogue even as the claims about Krishna's identity become increasingly vast.

10.19–38

A world made available to attention

Krishna begins with the self in the heart of every being, then names foremost examples across many domains. Sun, ocean, Himalaya, sacred recitation, memory, resolve, and silence all become ways of directing attention. Proper names retain their place within an Indian sacred world rather than being replaced with interchangeable modern equivalents. The catalogue also includes powers that can be misused. Their presence describes potency and dependence; it does not suspend the Gita's distinctions between disciplined conduct and wrongdoing.

10.39–42

Every example points beyond itself

No moving or unmoving being exists apart from Krishna. The catalogue has therefore offered an indication, not a limit. Splendour, beauty, and strength can be recognized as arising from a portion of his radiance. The final question asks what need Arjuna has for still more particulars when the whole world is sustained by a single portion. Attention has been trained through differences so that it can recognize a dependence wider than any one extraordinary object.

Selected key verses

Stay with the words.

The Sanskrit, an original translation, and a way into the meaning.

Bhagavad Gita 10.10Krishna · in the dialogue

Understanding given in love

तेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूर्वकम् ।ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते ॥ १० ॥
teṣāṃ satatayuktānāṃ bhajatāṃ prītipūrvakamdadāmi buddhiyogaṃ taṃ yena māmupayānti te

To those who are continually steadfast and worship with love, I give the yoga of understanding by which they come to me.

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

Krishna gives the yoga of understanding to those who remain steadfast and worship with love. Discernment and devotion are joined rather than opposed. The verse describes a relationship in which attention is sustained by the seeker and understanding is also received as a gift. Its goal is coming to Krishna, not merely becoming more efficient at private ambitions.

Explore deeper

Buddhi-yoga has appeared earlier in the teaching on action. Here it is placed within loving devotion. The continuity prevents a rigid division between intellectual and devotional paths, while the changed setting adds reciprocity. The next verse develops the image of a lamp dispelling ignorance. Love does not require darkness to be preserved; the divine response is described precisely as illumination, helping the devotee know rather than merely obey without understanding.

Bhagavad Gita 10.20Krishna · in the dialogue

At the heart of every being

अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः ।अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एव च ॥ २० ॥
ahamātmā guḍākeśa sarvabhūtāśayasthitaḥahamādiśca madhyaṃ ca bhūtānāmanta eva ca

I am the self dwelling in the heart of all beings, Gudakesha. I am their beginning, their middle, and their end.

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

Before naming particular manifestations, Krishna identifies himself as the self dwelling in the heart of all beings. Beginning, continuance, and ending are gathered into the same relation. This opening protects the later catalogue from becoming a list of privileged objects with no significance beyond their exceptional status.

Explore deeper

The manifestations that follow can attract attention through splendour, power, or distinction. Yet this verse establishes a scope wider than the spectacular. Every being is included in the inward presence it describes. Traditional accounts differ over the precise relation between individual self and supreme self; the translation preserves that philosophical question. The catalogue is most fruitfully read as training recognition of a sustaining presence, not ranking which lives deserve reverence.

Bhagavad Gita 10.41Krishna · in the dialogue

A portion of radiance

यद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा ।तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं मम तेजोऽंशसम्भवम् ॥ ४१ ॥
yadyadvibhūtimatsattvaṃ śrīmadūrjitameva vātattadevāvagaccha tvaṃ mama tejo’ṃśasambhavam

Whatever being possesses magnificence, beauty, or strength, understand it to arise from a portion of my radiance.

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

Splendour, beauty, and strength point toward their source. Krishna tells Arjuna to understand these excellences as arising from a portion of his radiance. The verse gives a reading rule for the whole catalogue: a manifestation can disclose something real without exhausting what it discloses.

Explore deeper

The word amsha indicates a portion or share. Commentarial traditions explain divine manifestation without always treating such language as a literal division of a material substance. The following verse stresses that a single portion sustains the whole world. Together they prevent admiration from closing around one powerful object. They also do not make power a moral permission: the Gita's distinctions between disciplined conduct, harmful desire, and right understanding continue to apply.

Read the full chapter

The whole conversation
matters.

All 42 verses, with Sanskrit, IAST transliteration and original King of Dwarka English.

Read Chapter 1042 verses · Sanskrit & English

Use the peacock feather above to mark your place. Sources & editions

10.1Krishna

भूय एव महाबाहो श‍ृणु मे परमं वचः ।यत्तेऽहं प्रीयमाणाय वक्ष्यामि हितकाम्यया ॥ १ ॥
bhūya eva mahābāho śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥyatte’haṃ prīyamāṇāya vakṣyāmi hitakāmyayā

Krishna said: Listen again, mighty-armed one, to my highest teaching. Because you delight in it, I speak with your welfare in mind.

10.2

न मे विदुः सुरगणाः प्रभवं न महर्षयः ।अहमादिर्हि देवानां महर्षीणां च सर्वशः ॥ २ ॥
na me viduḥ suragaṇāḥ prabhavaṃ na maharṣayaḥahamādirhi devānāṃ maharṣīṇāṃ ca sarvaśaḥ

Neither the hosts of gods nor the great sages know my origin, for I am in every way the beginning of the gods and the great sages.

10.3

यो मामजमनादिं च वेत्ति लोकमहेश्वरम् ।असम्मूढः स मर्त्येषु सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥ ३ ॥
yo māmajamanādiṃ ca vetti lokamaheśvaramasammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate

One who knows me as unborn, without beginning, and great lord of the world is free of confusion among mortals and released from every wrong.

10.4

बुद्धिर्ज्ञानमसम्मोहः क्षमा सत्यं दमः शमः ।सुखं दुःखं भवोऽभावो भयं चाभयमेव च ॥ ४ ॥
buddhirjñānamasammohaḥ kṣamā satyaṃ damaḥ śamaḥsukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ bhavo’bhāvo bhayaṃ cābhayameva ca

Understanding, knowledge, freedom from confusion, patience, truth, restraint of the senses, inward quiet, pleasure, pain, coming into being, passing away, fear, and fearlessness,

10.5

अहिंसा समता तुष्टिस्तपो दानं यशोऽयशः ।भवन्ति भावा भूतानां मत्त एव पृथग्विधाः ॥ ५ ॥
ahiṃsā samatā tuṣṭistapo dānaṃ yaśo’yaśaḥbhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṃ matta eva pṛthagvidhāḥ

non-harming, equality, contentment, austerity, giving, honour, and dishonour: these varied conditions of beings arise from me alone.

10.6

महर्षयः सप्त पूर्वे चत्वारो मनवस्तथा ।मद्भावा मानसा जाता येषां लोक इमाः प्रजाः ॥ ६ ॥
maharṣayaḥ sapta pūrve catvāro manavastathāmadbhāvā mānasā jātā yeṣāṃ loka imāḥ prajāḥ

The seven great sages, the ancient four, and the Manus were born of my mind and share my being. From them come these creatures in the world.

The expression concerning 'the ancient four' and the Manus admits different groupings. Some traditions identify four earlier sages; others associate the number with the Manus. The English preserves the list without asserting one genealogy as certain.

10.7

एतां विभूतिं योगं च मम यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।सोऽविकम्पेन योगेन युज्यते नात्र संशयः ॥ ७ ॥
etāṃ vibhūtiṃ yogaṃ ca mama yo vetti tattvataḥso’vikampena yogena yujyate nātra saṃśayaḥ

Whoever truly knows this manifestation of mine and my power of yoga becomes joined to unshakable yoga. Of this there is no doubt.

10.8

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते ।इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विताः ॥ ८ ॥
ahaṃ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṃ pravartateiti matvā bhajante māṃ budhā bhāvasamanvitāḥ

I am the source of everything; everything proceeds from me. Understanding this, the discerning worship me with their whole inward being.

10.9

मच्चित्ता मद्गतप्राणा बोधयन्तः परस्परम् ।कथयन्तश्च मां नित्यं तुष्यन्ति च रमन्ति च ॥ ९ ॥
maccittā madgataprāṇā bodhayantaḥ parasparamkathayantaśca māṃ nityaṃ tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca

Their minds turned toward me, their lives given to me, they awaken one another to understanding. Speaking of me continually, they find contentment and delight.

10.10

तेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूर्वकम् ।ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते ॥ १० ॥
teṣāṃ satatayuktānāṃ bhajatāṃ prītipūrvakamdadāmi buddhiyogaṃ taṃ yena māmupayānti te

To those who are continually steadfast and worship with love, I give the yoga of understanding by which they come to me.

10.11

तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः ।नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता ॥ ११ ॥
teṣāmevānukampārthamahamajñānajaṃ tamaḥnāśayāmyātmabhāvastho jñānadīpena bhāsvatā

Out of compassion for them, dwelling in their inward being, I destroy the darkness born of ignorance with the shining lamp of knowledge.

10.12Arjuna

परं ब्रह्म परं धाम पवित्रं परमं भवान् ।पुरुषं शाश्वतं दिव्यमादिदेवमजं विभुम् ॥ १२ ॥
paraṃ brahma paraṃ dhāma pavitraṃ paramaṃ bhavānpuruṣaṃ śāśvataṃ divyamādidevamajaṃ vibhum

Arjuna said: You are the highest Brahman, the highest abode, the supreme purifier; the enduring divine person, the primal deity, unborn and all-pervading.

10.13

आहुस्त्वामृषयः सर्वे देवर्षिर्नारदस्तथा ।असितो देवलो व्यासः स्वयं चैव ब्रवीषि मे ॥ १३ ॥
āhustvāmṛṣayaḥ sarve devarṣirnāradastathāasito devalo vyāsaḥ svayaṃ caiva bravīṣi me

All the sages say this of you: the divine sage Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa. And you yourself now tell me so.

10.14

सर्वमेतदृतं मन्ये यन्मां वदसि केशव ।न हि ते भगवन्व्यक्तिं विदुर्देवा न दानवाः ॥ १४ ॥
sarvametadṛtaṃ manye yanmāṃ vadasi keśavana hi te bhagavanvyaktiṃ vidurdevā na dānavāḥ

I hold everything you tell me to be true, Keshava. Neither gods nor demons know your manifestation, Lord.

10.15

स्वयमेवात्मनात्मानं वेत्थ त्वं पुरुषोत्तम ।भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेव जगत्पते ॥ १५ ॥
svayamevātmanātmānaṃ vettha tvaṃ puruṣottamabhūtabhāvana bhūteśa devadeva jagatpate

You alone know yourself through yourself, highest person, source of beings, lord of beings, god of gods, master of the world.

10.16

वक्तुमर्हस्यशेषेण दिव्या ह्यात्मविभूतयः ।याभिर्विभूतिभिर्लोकानिमांस्त्वं व्याप्य तिष्ठसि ॥ १६ ॥
vaktumarhasyaśeṣeṇa divyā hyātmavibhūtayaḥyābhirvibhūtibhirlokānimāṃstvaṃ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi

Please tell me fully of your divine manifestations through which you remain pervading these worlds.

10.17

कथं विद्यामहं योगिंस्त्वां सदा परिचिन्तयन् ।केषु केषु च भावेषु चिन्त्योऽसि भगवन्मया ॥ १७ ॥
kathaṃ vidyāmahaṃ yogiṃstvāṃ sadā paricintayankeṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu cintyo’si bhagavanmayā

How may I know you, master of yoga, by contemplating you continually? In which particular forms of being should I contemplate you, Lord?

10.18

विस्तरेणात्मनो योगं विभूतिं च जनार्दन ।भूयः कथय तृप्तिर्हि श‍ृण्वतो नास्ति मेऽमृतम् ॥ १८ ॥
vistareṇātmano yogaṃ vibhūtiṃ ca janārdanabhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptirhi śṛṇvato nāsti me’mṛtam

Tell me again, in detail, of your yoga and your manifestations, Janardana. I cannot have enough of hearing this nectar.

10.19Krishna

हन्त ते कथयिष्यामि दिव्या ह्यात्मविभूतयः ।प्राधान्यतः कुरुश्रेष्ठ नास्त्यन्तो विस्तरस्य मे ॥ १९ ॥
hanta te kathayiṣyāmi divyā hyātmavibhūtayaḥprādhānyataḥ kuruśreṣṭha nāstyanto vistarasya me

Krishna said: Yes, I will describe the foremost of my divine manifestations, best of the Kurus. There is no end to their extent.

10.20

अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः ।अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एव च ॥ २० ॥
ahamātmā guḍākeśa sarvabhūtāśayasthitaḥahamādiśca madhyaṃ ca bhūtānāmanta eva ca

I am the self dwelling in the heart of all beings, Gudakesha. I am their beginning, their middle, and their end.

10.21

आदित्यानामहं विष्णुर्ज्योतिषां रविरंशुमान् ।मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मि नक्षत्राणामहं शशी ॥ २१ ॥
ādityānāmahaṃ viṣṇurjyotiṣāṃ raviraṃśumānmarīcirmarutāmasmi nakṣatrāṇāmahaṃ śaśī

Among the Adityas I am Vishnu; among lights, the radiant sun. Among the Maruts I am Marichi; among the lights of the night, the moon.

10.22

वेदानां सामवेदोऽस्मि देवानामस्मि वासवः ।इन्द्रियाणां मनश्चास्मि भूतानामस्मि चेतना ॥ २२ ॥
vedānāṃ sāmavedo’smi devānāmasmi vāsavaḥindriyāṇāṃ manaścāsmi bhūtānāmasmi cetanā

Among the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; among the gods, Indra. Among the senses I am the mind; in living beings, awareness.

10.23

रुद्राणां शङ्करश्चास्मि वित्तेशो यक्षरक्षसाम् ।वसूनां पावकश्चास्मि मेरुः शिखरिणामहम् ॥ २३ ॥
rudrāṇāṃ śaṅkaraścāsmi vitteśo yakṣarakṣasāmvasūnāṃ pāvakaścāsmi meruḥ śikhariṇāmaham

Among the Rudras I am Shankara; among yakshas and rakshasas, the lord of wealth. Among the Vasus I am fire; among mountain peaks, Meru.

10.24

पुरोधसां च मुख्यं मां विद्धि पार्थ बृहस्पतिम् ।सेनानीनामहं स्कन्दः सरसामस्मि सागरः ॥ २४ ॥
purodhasāṃ ca mukhyaṃ māṃ viddhi pārtha bṛhaspatimsenānīnāmahaṃ skandaḥ sarasāmasmi sāgaraḥ

Among household priests, know me as their chief, Brihaspati, Partha. Among commanders I am Skanda; among bodies of water, the ocean.

10.25

महर्षीणां भृगुरहं गिरामस्म्येकमक्षरम् ।यज्ञानां जपयज्ञोऽस्मि स्थावराणां हिमालयः ॥ २५ ॥
maharṣīṇāṃ bhṛgurahaṃ girāmasmyekamakṣaramyajñānāṃ japayajño’smi sthāvarāṇāṃ himālayaḥ

Among the great sages I am Bhrigu; among utterances, the single sacred syllable. Among sacrifices I am repeated sacred recitation; among immovable things, the Himalaya.

10.26

अश्वत्थः सर्ववृक्षाणां देवर्षीणां च नारदः ।गन्धर्वाणां चित्ररथः सिद्धानां कपिलो मुनिः ॥ २६ ॥
aśvatthaḥ sarvavṛkṣāṇāṃ devarṣīṇāṃ ca nāradaḥgandharvāṇāṃ citrarathaḥ siddhānāṃ kapilo muniḥ

Among all trees I am the sacred fig; among divine sages, Narada; among celestial musicians, Chitraratha; among perfected beings, the sage Kapila.

10.27

उच्चैःश्रवसमश्वानां विद्धि माममृतोद्भवम् ।ऐरावतं गजेन्द्राणां नराणां च नराधिपम् ॥ २७ ॥
uccaiḥśravasamaśvānāṃ viddhi māmamṛtodbhavamairāvataṃ gajendrāṇāṃ narāṇāṃ ca narādhipam

Among horses, know me as Uchchaihshravas, born when the nectar arose; among lordly elephants, Airavata; among human beings, the ruler.

10.28

आयुधानामहं वज्रं धेनूनामस्मि कामधुक् ।प्रजनश्चास्मि कन्दर्पः सर्पाणामस्मि वासुकिः ॥ २८ ॥
āyudhānāmahaṃ vajraṃ dhenūnāmasmi kāmadhukprajanaścāsmi kandarpaḥ sarpāṇāmasmi vāsukiḥ

Among weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows, the wish-fulfilling cow. I am Kandarpa, the power of love that brings forth offspring; among serpents, Vasuki.

10.29

अनन्तश्चास्मि नागानां वरुणो यादसामहम् ।पितॄणामर्यमा चास्मि यमः संयमतामहम् ॥ २९ ॥
anantaścāsmi nāgānāṃ varuṇo yādasāmahampitṝṇāmaryamā cāsmi yamaḥ saṃyamatāmaham

Among nagas I am Ananta; among water-beings, Varuna. Among ancestors I am Aryaman; among those who restrain, Yama.

10.30

प्रह्लादश्चास्मि दैत्यानां कालः कलयतामहम् ।मृगाणां च मृगेन्द्रोऽहं वैनतेयश्च पक्षिणाम् ॥ ३० ॥
prahlādaścāsmi daityānāṃ kālaḥ kalayatāmahammṛgāṇāṃ ca mṛgendro’haṃ vainateyaśca pakṣiṇām

Among the Daityas I am Prahlada; among those who reckon, time. Among wild animals I am the lion; among birds, Garuda, son of Vinata.

10.31

पवनः पवतामस्मि रामः शस्त्रभृतामहम् ।झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मि जाह्नवी ॥ ३१ ॥
pavanaḥ pavatāmasmi rāmaḥ śastrabhṛtāmahamjhaṣāṇāṃ makaraścāsmi srotasāmasmi jāhnavī

Among purifiers I am the wind; among those who bear weapons, Rama. Among aquatic creatures I am the makara; among rivers, the Ganga.

The Rama named among weapon-bearers is identified differently in commentarial traditions, including Rama of the Ramayana and Parashurama. The Sanskrit name is retained without adding a disputed identification.

10.32

सर्गाणामादिरन्तश्च मध्यं चैवाहमर्जुन ।अध्यात्मविद्या विद्यानां वादः प्रवदतामहम् ॥ ३२ ॥
sargāṇāmādirantaśca madhyaṃ caivāhamarjunaadhyātmavidyā vidyānāṃ vādaḥ pravadatāmaham

Of creations I am the beginning, the middle, and the end, Arjuna. Among branches of learning I am knowledge of the self; among those who debate, truth-seeking discussion.

10.33

अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च ।अहमेवाक्षयः कालो धाताहं विश्वतोमुखः ॥ ३३ ॥
akṣarāṇāmakāro’smi dvandvaḥ sāmāsikasya caahamevākṣayaḥ kālo dhātāhaṃ viśvatomukhaḥ

Among sounds I am the letter a; among compound words, the joining of equals. I am inexhaustible time and the sustainer whose faces are everywhere.

10.34

मृत्युः सर्वहरश्चाहमुद्भवश्च भविष्यताम् ।कीर्तिः श्रीर्वाक्च नारीणां स्मृतिर्मेधा धृतिः क्षमा ॥ ३४ ॥
mṛtyuḥ sarvaharaścāhamudbhavaśca bhaviṣyatāmkīrtiḥ śrīrvākca nārīṇāṃ smṛtirmedhā dhṛtiḥ kṣamā

I am death that takes everything, and the arising of what is yet to be. Among feminine powers I am renown, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, constancy, and patience.

Fame, splendour, speech, memory, discernment, resolve, and patience are feminine nouns and can be understood as personified divine powers. The line need not mean that these capacities belong exclusively to women.

10.35

बृहत्साम तथा साम्नां गायत्री छन्दसामहम् ।मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहमृतूनां कुसुमाकरः ॥ ३५ ॥
bṛhatsāma tathā sāmnāṃ gāyatrī chandasāmahammāsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣo’hamṛtūnāṃ kusumākaraḥ

Among Sama chants I am Brihat-saman; among metres, Gayatri. Among months I am Margashirsha; among seasons, the flowering spring.

10.36

द्यूतं छलयतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ।जयोऽस्मि व्यवसायोऽस्मि सत्त्वं सत्त्ववतामहम् ॥ ३६ ॥
dyūtaṃ chalayatāmasmi tejastejasvināmahamjayo’smi vyavasāyo’smi sattvaṃ sattvavatāmaham

Among deceptive practices I am gambling; in the radiant I am radiance. I am victory, resolve, and the goodness of those endowed with goodness.

10.37

वृष्णीनां वासुदेवोऽस्मि पाण्डवानां धनञ्जयः ।मुनीनामप्यहं व्यासः कवीनामुशना कविः ॥ ३७ ॥
vṛṣṇīnāṃ vāsudevo’smi pāṇḍavānāṃ dhanañjayaḥmunīnāmapyahaṃ vyāsaḥ kavīnāmuśanā kaviḥ

Among the Vrishnis I am Vasudeva; among the Pandavas, Dhananjaya. Among contemplatives I am Vyasa; among seers, Ushanas the seer.

10.38

दण्डो दमयतामस्मि नीतिरस्मि जिगीषताम् ।मौनं चैवास्मि गुह्यानां ज्ञानं ज्ञानवतामहम् ॥ ३८ ॥
daṇḍo damayatāmasmi nītirasmi jigīṣatāmmaunaṃ caivāsmi guhyānāṃ jñānaṃ jñānavatāmaham

Among those who govern I am the power of restraint; among those seeking victory, wise policy. Among secrets I am silence; in those who know, knowledge.

10.39

यच्चापि सर्वभूतानां बीजं तदहमर्जुन ।न तदस्ति विना यत्स्यान्मया भूतं चराचरम् ॥ ३९ ॥
yaccāpi sarvabhūtānāṃ bījaṃ tadahamarjunana tadasti vinā yatsyānmayā bhūtaṃ carācaram

Whatever is the seed of all beings, that am I, Arjuna. No being, moving or unmoving, can exist apart from me.

10.40

नान्तोऽस्ति मम दिव्यानां विभूतीनां परन्तप ।एष तूद्देशतः प्रोक्तो विभूतेर्विस्तरो मया ॥ ४० ॥
nānto’sti mama divyānāṃ vibhūtīnāṃ parantapaeṣa tūddeśataḥ prokto vibhūtervistaro mayā

There is no end to my divine manifestations, scorcher of foes. What I have described is only an indication of their extent.

10.41

यद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा ।तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं मम तेजोऽंशसम्भवम् ॥ ४१ ॥
yadyadvibhūtimatsattvaṃ śrīmadūrjitameva vātattadevāvagaccha tvaṃ mama tejo’ṃśasambhavam

Whatever being possesses magnificence, beauty, or strength, understand it to arise from a portion of my radiance.

10.42

अथवा बहुनैतेन किं ज्ञातेन तवार्जुन ।विष्टभ्याहमिदं कृत्स्नमेकांशेन स्थितो जगत् ॥ ४२ ॥
athavā bahunaitena kiṃ jñātena tavārjunaviṣṭabhyāhamidaṃ kṛtsnamekāṃśena sthito jagat

But what need have you, Arjuna, for knowledge of so many particulars? Sustaining this entire world with a single portion of myself, I remain.

A deeper reading

Questions worth
remaining with.

10.20–38

The ordinary world and the exceptional example

The manifestations often name the foremost member of a class: the ocean among waters, a particular sage among sages, or a great mountain among immovable things. Excellence can draw attention sharply enough to interrupt habit. Yet the first and last claims extend beyond exceptional objects: Krishna is the self in all beings, and nothing exists apart from him. The exceptional example is an entrance into recognition, not proof that less impressive lives lack significance.

A reader can therefore use the list as a discipline of attention without turning it into an aesthetic ranking of worth. Quiet capacities such as memory, patience, and silence stand beside luminous or powerful phenomena. The range widens what can be noticed. Reverence is not reserved for spectacle; it can also follow the less visible conditions that sustain understanding, relationship, and the continuity of a life.

10.33–38

Power is not the same as permission

The inclusion of gambling among deceptive practices is deliberately uncomfortable. The Gita does not thereby recommend deception or gambling as conduct. Krishna is naming a striking power within a domain, just as he names death as the power that takes everything. The moral evaluation of a human action cannot be replaced by the claim that its capacity has a divine source. The earlier teaching on desire, discernment, and wrong action remains in force.

The same care applies to kingship, weapons, punishment, and victory. A ruler cannot cite this chapter to make every exercise of authority sacred. The catalogue describes manifestations within a world whose powers require discrimination. Keeping that distinction visible prevents a theology of dependence from becoming an excuse for domination. The text's account of divine presence is larger than personal approval, and its ethical demands are more exacting than admiration for force.

10.8–18, 39–42

Hearing opens toward seeing

Arjuna's delight in hearing is not the same as possession of complete understanding. He asks Krishna to speak again, and the response provides images through which contemplation can continue. The chapter treats repetition as a deepening of relationship rather than the failure of a previous explanation. Shared conversation, attention, and the gift of understanding make knowledge a lived exchange.

Yet the catalogue also reaches its own limit. It can point through the world's separate manifestations, but it cannot gather their totality into a single ordinary act of seeing. The next chapter will make that limit explicit when Arjuna asks for the universal form. Chapter 10 is therefore a preparation for the vision, not a substitute for it. Its final restraint, the reminder that the whole world is only a portion, makes the coming request both intelligible and immense.

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