🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 10.34
Chapter 10 · विभूतियोग · Vibhūti-Yoga · "The Yoga of Krishna's Manifestations" · Verse 34 of 42
🪷 English Translations
Five authentic English voices · each from a distinct sampradāya · together revealing the verse's full śabda-tattva.
Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 · public domain · Cosmo Press tradition
10.34 I am all-devouring Death; I am the Origin of all that shall happen; I am Fame, Fortune, Speech, Memory, Intellect, Constancy and Forgiveness.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
10.34 And I am the all-devouring Death, and the prosperity of those who are to be prosperous; among the feminine alities (I am) fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, firmness and forgiveness.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
10.34 Death which is of two kinds-one destroying wealth, and the other destroying life-, [Here Ast. adds: tatra yah prana-harah sah (sarva-harah ucyate)-Among them, that which destroys life (is called sarva-harah).-Tr.] is called sarva-harah, the destroyer of all. I am that. This is the meaning. Or, the supreme God is the all-destroyer because He destroys everything during dissolution. I am He. And I am udbhavah, prosperity, eminence, and the means to it. Of whom? Bhavisyatam, of those destined to be prosperous, i.e. of those who are fit for attaining eminence.
Narinam, of the feminine alities; I am kirtih, fame; srih, beauty; vak, speech; smrtih, memory; medha, intelligence dhrtih, fortitude; and ksama, forbearance. I am these excellent feminine ialities, by coming to possess even a trace of which one considers himself successful.
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
10.34 I am also death which snatches away the life of all. Of those that shall be born I am that called birth. Of women (i.e., of goddesses who are the powers of the Lord) I am prosperity (Sri); I am fame (Kirti); I am speech (Vak); I am memory (Smrti); I am intelligence (Medha); I am endurance (Dhrti); and I am forgiveness (Ksama).
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
10.34. I am the Death that carries away all and also the Birth of all that are to be born; of the wives of men, I am the Fame, Fortune, Speech, Memory, Wisdom, Constancy and Patience.
🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices
The classical commentary tradition rendered in English · each ācārya speaks from their own sampradāya · the seer chooses the depth of darśana.
Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
10.34 मृत्युः death? सर्वहरः alldevouring? च and? अहम् I? उद्भवः the prosperity? च and? भविष्यताम् of those who are to be prosperous? कीर्तिः frame? श्रीः prosperity? वाक् speech? च and? नारीणाम् of the feminine? स्मृतिः the memory? मेधा intelligence? धृतिः firmness? क्षमा forgiveness.Commentary I am also the allsnatching death that destroys everything. Death is of two kinds? viz.? he who seizes wealth and he who seizes life. Of them he who seizes life is the allseizer and,hence he is called Sarvaharah. I am he.Or? there is another interpretation. I am the Supreme Lord Who is the allseizer? because I destroy everything at the time of the cosmic dissolution.I am the origin of all the beings to be born in the future. I am the prosperity and the means of achieving it of those who are fit to attain it.Beauty is Sri. Lustre is Sri. I am fame? the best of the feminine alities. People who have attained slight fame think that they have achieved great success in life and that they have become very big or great men. I am speech which adorns the throne of justice. I am memory which recalls objects and pleasures of the past.The power of the mind which enables one to hold the teachings of the scriptures is Medha. Firmness or Dhriti is the power to keep the body and the senses steady even amidst various kinds of sufferings. The power to keep oneself unattached even while doing actions is Dhriti. It also means courage. Kshama also means endurance.Fame? prosperity? memory? intelligence and firmness are the daughters of Daksha. They had been given in marriage to Dhrama and so they are all called Dharmapatnis.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
10.34 Death which is of two kinds-one destroying wealth, and the other destroying life-, [Here Ast. adds: tatra yah prana-harah sah (sarva-harah ucyate)-Among them, that which destroys life (is called sarva-harah).-Tr.] is called sarva-harah, the destroyer of all. I am that. This is the meaning. Or, the supreme God is the all-destroyer because He destroys everything during dissolution. I am He. And I am udbhavah, prosperity, eminence, and the means to it. Of whom? Bhavisyatam, of those destined to be prosperous, i.e. of those who are fit for attaining eminence.
Narinam, of the feminine alities; I am kirtih, fame; srih, beauty; vak, speech; smrtih, memory; medha, intelligence dhrtih, fortitude; and ksama, forbearance. I am these excellent feminine ialities, by coming to possess even a trace of which one considers himself successful.
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
10.34 I am also death which snatches away the life of all. Of those that shall be born I am that called birth. Of women (i.e., of goddesses who are the powers of the Lord) I am prosperity (Sri); I am fame (Kirti); I am speech (Vak); I am memory (Smrti); I am intelligence (Medha); I am endurance (Dhrti); and I am forgiveness (Ksama).
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
10.34 See Comment under 10.42
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।10.34।। मैं सर्वभक्षक मृत्यु हूँ समानता की समर्थक मृत्यु? शासक के राजदण्ड और मुकुट को भी भिक्षु के भिक्षापात्र और दण्ड के स्तर तक ले आती है। प्रत्येक प्राणी केवल अपने जीवन काल में अनेक वस्तुओं और व्यक्तियों के संबंधों के द्वारा अपना एक भिन्न अस्तित्व बनाये रखता है। मृत्यु के पश्चात् विद्वान और मूढ़? पुण्यात्मा और पापात्मा? बलवान और दुर्बल? शासक और शासित ये सब धूलि में मिल जाते हैं? एक समानरूप बन जाते हैं जिनमें किसी प्रकार का भेद नहीं किया जा सकता।भविष्य में होने वालों का मैं उत्पत्ति कारण हूँ परमात्मा केवल सर्वभक्षक ही नहीं? सृष्टिकर्ता भी है। हम देख चुके हैं कि वस्तुत एक अवस्था के नाश के बिना अन्य अवस्था का जन्म नहीं हो सकता है। किसी पक्ष को ही देखना माने जीवन का एकांगी दर्शन करना ही हैं। वस्तु के नाश से शून्यता नहीं शेष रहती? वरन् अन्य वस्तु की उत्पत्ति होती है। समुद्र में उठती लहरों को अलगअलग देंखे ंतो सदा नाश ही होता दिखाई देगा? परन्तु एक के लय के साथ ही समुद्र में कितनी ही लहरें उत्पन्न होती रहती हैं? जिसका हमे ध्यान भी नहीं रहता है।इस सम्पूर्ण विवेचन का बल इसी पर है कि अनन्त परमात्मा अपने में ही रचना और संहार की क्रीड़ा निरन्तर कर रहा है जिस क्रीड़ा को हम विश्व कहते हैं।मैं स्त्रियों में कीर्ति? श्री? वाक्? स्मृति? मेधा? धृति और क्षमा हूँ ये सात देवताओं की स्त्रियां और स्त्रीवाचक नाम गुण के रूप में भी प्रसिद्ध हंै? इसलिए दोनों प्रकार से ही ये भगवान् की विभूतियां है? दार्शनिक दृष्टिकोण से इस कथन का अर्थ सब आलोचनाओं के परे है। यहाँ यह नहीं कहा गया है कि इन गुणों से सम्पन्न पुरुष दिव्य है। तात्पर्य यह है कि जिस किसी पुरुष में जिसका भूतकाल का जीवन कैसा भी हो जब कभी इनमें से किसी गुण के दर्शन होते हैं? तब हम उसके माध्यम से ईश्वर की विभूति के स्पष्ट दर्शन कर सकते हैं। गुण के प्रत्यारोपण की भाषा में भगवान् कहते हैं? स्त्रियों में मैं कीर्ति? श्री आदि गुण हूँ।अपने परिचय को और अधिक स्पष्ट करने के लिए अगले श्लोक में भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण चार और दृष्टान्त देते हैं
🪷 Place in the Bhagavad-Gītā
- This is verse 34 of 42 in Chapter 10 · Vibhūti-Yoga (The Yoga of Krishna's Manifestations)
- Chapter theme: BG 10.20-42 · "Among X, I am Y" · the foundational vibhūti enumeration
- Ṣaṭka grouping: TAT-Ṣaṭka (BG 7-12 · the Lord)
- Chapter hub: /vibhuti-yoga
🪷 ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय 🪷
सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)