The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section XXXIV (Bhagavad Gita Chapter X)

SECTION XXXIV

"The Holy One said, 'Once more still, O mighty-armed one, listen to my supernal words which, from desire of (thy) good, I say unto thee that wouldst be pleased (therewith). 2 The hosts of gods know not my origin, nor the great Rishis, since I am, in every way, the source of the gods and the great Rishis. 3 He that knoweth me as the Supreme Lord of the worlds, without birth and beginning, (he), undeluded among mortals, is free from all sins. Intelligence, knowledge, the absence of delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, and tranquillity, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear, and also security, abstention from harm, evenness of mind, contentment, ascetic austerities, gift, fame, infamy, these several attributes of creatures arise from me. The Seven great Rishis, the four Maharishis before (them), and the Manus, partaking of my nature, were born from my mind, of whom in this world are these offsprings. 4 He that knoweth truly this pre-eminence and mystic power of mine, becometh possessed of unswerving devotion. Of this (there is) no doubt. I am the origin of all things, from me all things proceed. Thinking thus, the wise, endued with my nature, worship me. 5 Their hearts on me, their lives devoted to me, instructing one another, and gloryfying me they are ever contented and happy. 6 Unto them always devoted, and worshipping (me) with love, I give that devotion

1 Of them, for compassion's sake. I destroy the darkness born of ignorance, by the brilliant lamp of knowledge, (myself) dwelling in their souls.'

"Arjuna said, 'Thou art the Supreme Brahma, the Supreme Abode, the Holiest of the Holy, the eternal Male Being Divine, the First of gods Unborn, the Lord. All the Rishis proclaim thee thus, and also the celestial Rishi Narada; and Asita, Devala, (and) Vyasa; thyself also tellest me (so). All this that thou tellest me, O Kesava, I regard as true since, O Holy One, neither the gods nor the Danavas understand thy manifestation. Thou only knowest thyself by thyself. O Best of Male Beings. O Creator of all things; O Lord of all things, O God of gods, O Lord of the Universe, it behoveth thee to declare without any reservation, those divine perfections of thine by which perfections pervading these worlds thou abidest. How shall I, ever meditating, know thee, O thou of mystic powers, in what particular states mayst thou, O Holy One, be meditated upon by me? 2 Do thou again, O Janardana, copiously declare thy mystic powers and (thy) perfections, for I am never satiated with hearing thy nectar-like words."

"The Holy One said,--'Well, unto thee I will declare my divine perfections, by means of the principal ones (among them), O chief of the Kurus, for there is no end to the extent of my (perfections). 3 I am the soul, O thou of curly hair, seated in the heart of every being, I am the beginning, and the middle, and the end also of all beings. I am Vishnu among the Adityas, the resplendent Sun among all luminous bodies; I am Marichi among the Maruts, and the Moon among constellations. 4 I am the Sama Veda among the Vedas; I am Vasava among the gods; I am the mind among the senses; I am the intellect in (living) beings. I am Sankara among the Rudras, the Lord of treasures among the Yakshas and the Rakshasas; I am Pavaka among the Vasus, and Meru among the peaked (mountains).  5 Know me, O son of Pritha, to be Vrihaspati, the chief of household priests. I am Skanda among commanders of forces. I am Ocean among receptacles of water. I am Bhrigu among the great Rishis, I am the One, undestructible (syllable Om) among words. Of sacrifices I am the Japa-sacrifice. 6 Of immobiles I am the Himavat. I am the figtree

1 I am Ananta among Nagas, I am Varuna among acquatic beings, I am Aryaman among the Pitris, and Yama among those that judge and punish. 2 I am Prahlada among the Daityas, and Time among things that count. I am the lion among the beasts, and Vinata's son among winged creatures. Of purifiers I am the wind. I am Rama among wielders of weapons. I am the Makara among fishes, and I am Jahnavi (Ganga) among streams. 3 Of created things I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. I am the knowledge of Supreme Spirit among all kinds of knowledge, and the disputation among disputants. 4 Among all letters I am the letter A, and (the compound called) Dwanda among all compounds. I am also Time Eternal, and I am the Ordainer with face turned on every side. 5 I am Death that seizeth all, and the source of all, that is to be. Among females, I am Fame, Fortune, Speech, Memory, Intelligence, Constancy, Forgiveness. Of the Sama hymns, I am the Vrihat-sama and Gayatri among metres. Of the months, I am Margasirsha, of the seasons (I am) that which is productive of flowers. 6 I am the game of dice of them that cheat, and the splendour of those that are splendid. I am Victory, I am Exertion, I am the goodness of the good. I am Vasudeva among the Vrishnis, I am Dhananjaya among the sons of Pandu. I am even Vyasa among the ascetics, and Usanas among seers. I am the Rod of those that chastise, I am the Policy of those that seek victory. I am silence among those that are secret. I am the Knowledge of those that are possessed of Knowledge. That which is the Seed of all things, I am that, O Arjuna. There is nothing mobile or

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Footnotes

76:2 Telang renders Paramam 'excellent'; Mr. John Davies, 'all important'. The meaning is referring to the 'Supreme Soul'.

76:3 Both Sankara and Sreedhara explain Sarvassas as "in every way". i.e., as creator, as guide, &c.

76:4 Prajas offspring, including, as Sankara says, both mobile, and immobile, therefore, not mankind alone.

76:5 Bhava-samanwitas is explained by Sreedhara as "full of love", which K. T. Telang accepts. Sankara explains it as "endued with penetration into the knowledge of the Supreme object."

76:6 Tityam, ever, is connected with what follows and not what precedes. Thus Sreedhara. Mr. Davies connects it with Kathayantas.

77:1 K. T. Telang renders buddhi-yogam as knowledge; Mr. Davies, as mental devotion and Sankara, "devotion by special insight."

77:2 To know thee fully is impossible. In what particular forms or manifestations, therefore, shall I think of thee? The word Bhava in the second line is rendered "entities" by K. T. Telang, and "form of being" by Mr. Davies.

77:3 Vistarasya evidently refers (as explained by all the commentators) to Vibhutinam. it is a question of grammar and not of doctrine that there can be any difference of opinion. Mr. Davies, however, renders it "of (my) greatness." This is inaccurate.

77:4 The Adityas are the solar deities, twelve in number, corresponding to the twelve months of the year. The Maruts are the wind-gods, whose chief is Marichi.

77:5 The Rudras are a class of destructive gods, eleven in number. The Vasus are an inferior class of deities, eight in number. The lord of treasures is Kuvera.

77:6 The Japa-sacrifice is the sacrifice by meditation which is superior to all sacrifices.

78:1 Kamadhuk, the wish-giving cow called Surabhi. The cause of re-production, i.e., I am not the mere carnal passion, but that passion which procreates or is crowned with fruit.

78:2 In 28, Vasuki is called the chief of the Sarpas (serpents); in 29 Ananta is spoken of as the chief of the Nagas. The latter are Sarpas as well, Sreedhara says that the distinction lies in the fact of the Nagas being without poison. This is hardly correct.

78:3 Pavatam may also mean "of those that have motion." Rama is Dasaratha's son, the hero of Valmiki's poem. Ganga is called Jahnavi because she was, after having been drunk up, let out by the ascetic Jahnu through his knee.

78:4 Mr. Davies renders Vedas 'Pravadatam' as "the speech of those that speak." K. T. Telang renders it "the argument of controversialists."

78:5 A, or rather the sound of A as in full, is the initial letter of the Sanskrit alphabet. Of compounds, the Dwanda, or the copulative compound, is enumerated first. In other respects again, the Dwanda is the best kind of compound for the words forming it are co-ordinate, without one being dependent on the other or others.

78:6 The Vrihat-saman is said to be the best, because it leads to emancipation at once. Thus Sankara. The Margasirsha is the month from the middle of February to the middle of March. Productive of flowers, i.e., the Spring.

79:1 Mr. Davies renders the last line of this verse as "I have established in continuance all this universe by one part myself." This is both obscure and inaccurate.