Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 6 |
Chapter 7 |
Chapter 8 |
Chapter 9 |
Chapter 10 |
Chapter 11 |
Chapter 12 |
Chapter 13 |
Chapter 14 |
Chapter 15 |
Chapter 16 |
Chapter 17 |
Chapter 18 |
Sri Krisna said:1 Arjuna, hear once again My supreme word, which I shall speak to you, who are so loving, out of solicitude for your welfare.
2 Neither gods nor the great sages know the secret of My birth (ie.,My appearance in human form out of mere sport); for I am the prime cause in all respects of gods as well as of the great seers.
3 He who knows Me in reality as without beginning, and as the supreme Lord of the universe, he, undiluted among men, is purged of all sin.
4,5 Discrimination, true wisdom, sanity, forgiveness, truth, control over the senses and the mind, joy, and sorrow, evolution and dissolution, fear and fearlessness, non-violence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and disrepute, - these diverse feelings of creatures emanate from Me alone.
6 The seven great seers (Marichi and others), the more ancient (Sanaka and others), and the fourteen Manus (progenitors of mankind), who are all devoted to Me, are born of My will; of them all these creatures in the world were forgotten.
7 He who knows in reality this supreme glory and supernatural power of Mine gets established in Me through unwavering devotion: of this there is no doubt.
8 I am the source of all creation: everything in this world moves because of Me; knowing thus the wise, full of devotion worship Me.
9 With their minds fixed on Me, with their lives surrendered to Me, enlightening one another about My greatness and speaking of Me, they ever remain contented and take delight in Me.
10 On those ever united through meditation with Me and worshipping Me with love, I confer that Yoga of wisdom through which they attain Me.
11 In order to shower My grace on them, I, dwelling in their heart, dispel the darkness born of ignorance by the shining light of wisdom.
Arjuna said:
12,13 You are the supreme Eternal, the ultimate resort, the greatest purifier; all the seers speak of You as the eternal divine Person, the prime Deity, unborn and all-pervading. Likewise speak the celestial sage Narada, the sages Asita and Devala and the great sage Vyasa; and so do You Yourself proclaim this to me
. 14 Krisna, I believe as true all that You tell me. Lord, neither gods nor demons are aware of Your manifestation through Lila (sport).
15 O Creator of beings, O Ruler of creatures, God of gods, the Lord of the universe, O supreme Purusa, Yourself alone know Yourself through Yourself.
16 You alone can describe in full Your divine glories whereby You stand pervading these worlds.
17 O Master of Yoga, how am I to know You through constant meditation? And in what particular forms, O Lord, are You to be meditated upon by me?
18 Krisna, tell me once more , in detail, Your power of Yoga and Your glory; for I know no satiety in hearing Your nectarean words.
Sri Krisna said:
19 Arjuna, now I shall tell you My conspicuous divine glories; for there is no limit to My magnitude.
20 Arjuna, I am the Self seated in the heart of all beings; so I am the beginning and middle and also the end of all beings.
21 I am the Visnu among the twelve sons of Aditi, and the bright-rayed sun among the luminaries; I am the glory of the Maruts (the forty-nine wind gods), and the moon among the stars.
22 Among the Vedas, I am the Samaveda; among the gods, I am Indra. Among the senses, I am the mind; and I am the consciousness (life-energy) in living beings.
23 Among the eleven Rudras (gods of destruction), I am Sankara; and among the Yaksas and Raksasas, the god of riches (Kubera). Among the eight Vasus (a particular class of gods), I am the God of fire; and among the mountains, I am the Meru.
24 Among priests, Arjuna, know Me to be their chief, Brhaspati. Among generals, I am Skanda (the generalissimo of the gods); among the seats of water, I am the ocean.
25 Among the great seers, I am Bhrgu; among words, I am the monosyllabic Om. Among sacrifices, I am the sacrifice consisting of Japa (muttering of sacred formulae); among the immovables, the Himalaya.
26 Among all trees, I am the Aswattha (the holy fig tree); among the celestial sages, Narada; among the Gandharvas (celestial songsters), Chitraratha; among the Siddhas, the sage Kapila.
27 Among horses, know Me to be Uchchihsrava begotten of the churning of the ocean along with nectar; among mighty elephants, Airavata (Indra's elephant); among men, the king.
28 Among weapons, I am the thunderbolt; among cows, I am the celestial cow Kamadhenu. I am the sexual desire which is attended by procreation, among serpents, I am Vasuki.
29 Among Nagas (special class of serpents), I am Anata (the serpent god), and among acquatic creatures and water-gods, I am Varuna; among the manes, I am Aryama, and among rulers, I am Yama (the god of death).
30 Among the Daityas (demons), I am Prahlada; and among calculators, I am Time. So among quadrupeds, I am the lion; and among birds, Garuda (the vehicle of Visnu).
31 Among purifiers, I am the wind; among wielders of weapons, I am Rama. Among fishes, I am the alligator; and among rivers, I am the Ganges.
32 Arjuna, I am the beginning and the middle and the end of all creations. Of science, I am the science of the soul (metaphysics); in disputants, I am the right type of reasoning.
33 Among the letters, I am 'A' (first letter of the alphabet); of the different kinds of compounds in grammar, I am the copulative compound. I am verily the endless Time (the devourer of Time, God); I am the sustainer of all, having My face on all sides.
34 again, I am the all-destroying Death, as also the source of future beings; of women, I am the goddesses presiding over fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and forgiveness.
35 Likewise among the Sama hymns, I am Brhatsama: among the various Vedic verses, I am the Gayatri verse. Among the twelve months of the Hindu calendar, I am Margasirsa; among seasons, the vernal season.
36 In those practicing fraud, I am gambling; I am the glory of the glorious. I am the victory of the Victorious. I am the resolution of the resolute; I am the goodness of the good-natured.
37 Among the members of the Vrsni clan, I am your friend Krisna; among the pandavas, I am yourself. Among the sages, again, I am Vyasa; among the wise, I am the sage Sukra.
38 I am the ruling power in rulers; I am righteousness in those aspiring for victory. Of secrets, I am the custodian in the shape of silence; I am the wisdom of the wise. 39 Arjuna, I am even that which is the seed of all being. For there is no creature, animate or inanimate, which exists without Me.
40 Arjuna, of My divine glories there is no end. This is only a brief description by Me of the extent of My powers.
41 Every such creature as is glorious, brilliant or powerful, know that to be a manifestation of a spark of My effulgence.
42 Or, what will you gain by knowing all this in detail, Arjuna? Suffice it to say that I stand holding this entire universe by a spark of My Yogic power.
