By this stage in the divine discourse, Arjuna, deluded and crestfallen as he presents himself at the very outset, has substantially regained his composure and begun to appreciate the divine message of the Lord. This enthuses Lord Krishna to convey His message to Arjuna with a reinforced vigor and exhaustiveness. Readers will find in this chapter repetitions, rather reiterations, of some ideas already dealt with in the preceding chapters. In this context, it is to be noted that the Gita is part of an epic, the Mahabharata and as such, holds in its folds all the literary beauty expected of an epic of such magnitude.
The chapter opens with Lord Krishna appreciating Arjuna, who delights in listening to Him, and reassuring him that He, wishing his welfare, will again declare to him His supreme word which he should listen (v.1).
Thus beginning His discourse the Lord says that neither gods nor the great Rishis know His origin because He is eternal without a beginning or an end. On the other hand, the gods and the great Rishis have their source in Him, the Eternal Substratum of all that exists. As we will see later (v.6), the great Rishis mentioned in this verse denote the ‘Seven Seers’ (Sapta Rishis) so popular in the Hindu mythology (v.2).
He, who among the mortals, knows Him as the unborn and without a beginning, and also as the great Lord of all the realms of the universe is undeluded and gets deliverance from all sins. The Eternal Substance whence all beings, all physical phenomena and the pluralistic universe of various names and forms, spring forth and into whom all these ultimately dissolve, itself is without a beginning. At the dawn of this spiritual truth, all delusion arising out of ignorance ends and with it come to an end one’s tendencies (vasanas) for the unreal (asat), which are known in the Hindu tradition as sins (v.3).
The realms of existence, as mentioned in the previous verse, include not only the world of physical forms but also the worlds of feelings and ideas experienced by all of us in our lives. As such, different fields of experience represent different lokas and these exist for us only when illumined by Pure Consciousness. It is in this context that the Lord introduces Himself as the great Lord of all the realms (sarva-loka-maheshwarah). Illustrating this very idea the Lord says further that all experiences of beings of abstract ideas like intellect, wisdom, non-delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame, infamy, and so forth arise from Him alone (v.4-5).
Reverting to the idea already expressed in verse 2 above, Lord Krishna elucidates further that the ‘Seven great Rishis’, the ancient four Kumara-s, and all the Manu-s, possessed of powers like Him, were born of (His) mind, and from them have originated these creatures in the world. We find a specific mention of the “Seven great Rishis’ (Sapta Rishis) in the Shanti Parva (340:69-70) of the Mahabharata and they are named as Marichi, Angira, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vashishtha. Likewise, four ancient Kumar-s are named as Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumar. Moreover, Puranas also describe fourteen Manu-s each presiding over one of the fourteen manvantaras. It is to be noted here that the life-span of a cosmic creation is known as kalpa which has been further sub-divided into fourteen manvantaras. The Pauranic tradition has it that all these were created by Brahmaa. This apparent contradiction is removed by a philosophical interpretation of this mythological story. What we know as Brahmaa is nothing but the ‘urge-to-create’ of the Cosmic-Mind (Purusha of the Sankhya philosophy) vitalized by which the primordial matter or prakriti unfolds itself into creation of the universe of manifold names and forms. Thus the Lord is the ultimate cause – both efficient and material – of all creation (v.6).
One who knows in truth the manifold manifestations of His glory as well as His power of Yoga, becomes established in a state of unwavering Yoga, there is no doubt about it. All the manifestations described in the preceding verse are the glories of Lord, which find expression by His Yogic power the magic web of which creates, as it were, the pluralistic world of names and forms which, in Vedantic terms, is known as Maya. One, who has realized the underlying truth of these manifestations as well as the Yogic power of the Lord, is steadily established in constant divine consciousness. In this verse, the term Yoga has been variously used, first as the Divine Power of the Lord, and secondly, as the unwavering and constant divine consciousness (v.7).
Continuing the same idea the Lord says further that He is the source of all and from Him everything evolves. Understanding this, the wise endowed with loving consciousness of His all-pervasive nature, worship Him with their minds wholly resting in Him and their senses totally absorbed in Him. Here the term prana is to be interpreted not in the restrictive sense of ‘vital-air’ but in the wider sense of all vibrations of life in a living body. It is a blissful state wherein the wise enlighten each other and ever speak of the glories of the Lord, and doing so rest in complete contentment and joy (v.8-9).
To such ever-steadfast and the wise, as described in the preceding verses, who worship Him with love totally identifying with Him, the Lord promises to bless them with the capacity to discriminate and have an intuitive comprehension of Reality endowed with which they come unto Him. This verse presents a golden mean between bhakti and jnaana. Identification is a measure of love. Total love means total identification with the Lord. This is the ultimate stage of bahkti. To such a bhakta the Lord promises to bless with comprehension of Him, the Ultimate Reality. Out of compassion for them, He, dwelling within their hearts, destroys the darkness born of ignorance by the luminous lamp-of-knowledge. Here by the use of a metaphor the blessed state of the comprehension of Reality has been described, wherein all ignorance is destroyed just like darkness is destroyed in the presence of a luminous lamp (v.10-11).
As it has been observed earlier, by now Arjuna has got over his delusion, his heart is overflowing with love and devotion for Lord Krishna, but his intellectual curiosity has not yet been fully satiated. He wants to hear more about His glories. So he addresses the Lord by many names all pointing to His manifold manifestations, “You are the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier, Eternal, Divine Purusha, the God of all gods, Unborn, and Omnipresent. All the sages (rishis) have thus declared You, as also the divine sage (devarshi) Narada, so also Asit, Devala and Vyaasa, great sages mentioned in the Purnas; and now the same You Yourself say to me” (v.12-13).
All these attributes of the Lord spoken of in such glowing terms seem to confuse Arjuna who fails to identify his friend and relative, and presently his charioteer, Krishna as the Infinite, the Supreme, the All-Pervading Lord. His heart is full of faith, yet his intellect seems to be longing to be fed more on the glories of the Lord. So he continues with his implorations acknowledging his faith in all that the Lord says to him, saying further that neither gods nor demons know His infinite manifestations (v.14).
Addressing the Lord as the Supreme Self (Purushottama), Source of all beings, Lord of all beings, God of gods, and Ruler of the world, Arjuna says that He alone knows Himself by Himself. What Arjuna really wants to convey by this seemingly paradoxical statement is that Lord Krishna, manifestation of the Supreme Self in human form, is the perennial source of all knowledge, the Knowledge Absolute. As the self-effulgent Sun needs no other light, so the Lord, being Pure Awareness needs no other knowledge to know Himself (v.15).
The Lord, therefore, Arjuna implores, should tell him, without reserve, all of His manifestations by which He exists pervading all these worlds. Addressing Lord Krishna as Yogi (meaning a Karmayogi ever conscious of the Divine Essence) Arjuna implores Him further to tell him how and in what forms he, ever-meditating, should think of Him. The Lord, being all-pervasive, is present everywhere in all beings of the universe, be it a stone or a saint but His glory does not reflect equally in all of them. Arjuna wants the Lord to pin-point for his sake the objects and beings in which His glory is the most effulgent (v.16-17).
Having spelt out his purpose so emphatically, Aruna begs the Lord to tell him again, in detail, all about His manifestations and powers of Yoga, for he is never satisfied listening to His nectar-like speech. Ajuna is no longer a reluctant listener that he used to be at the beginning of this divine discourse, and wants to grasp every word the Lord has to say (v.18).
Impelled with compassion for His friend and disciple, Lord Krishna resumes His discourse with a note of sadness because the proposition put by Arjuna is so difficult keeping in view the infinitude of the Divine manifestations. So the Lord proposes to recount to Arjuna the spheres in which His manifestations are most prominent, for there is no limit to His extent (v.19).
Beginning with the essence of what He wants to convey to Arjuna, the Lord says that He is the Self that exists in the core of all beings – sentient and insentient. He is the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings. That is to say, all beings spring forth from Him, enjoy their existence in Him, and ultimately get dissolved into Him. Here the Pauranic concept of the Creator, Nourisher and Annihilator, so popular in the Hindu mythology, finds expression in a new form (v.20).
Citing a series of illustrations, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna the beings and objects in which His glories or manifestations are most prominently reflected. He is the Vishnu among Aditya-s. In the Vishnu-Purana, we find description of twelve Aditya-s (sons of Aditi) among whom Vishnu is the most revered and prominent. Among luminaries, He is the radiant Sun. Among Maruts, the presiding deity of storms and wind, He is Marichi. In Vedic verses, Maruts are known as the sons of Rudra and the Rig Veda mentions Marichi as the chief among them. Among stars, He is the moon, the brightest of all (v.21).
Among the Vedas, He is the Sama Veda. The bulk of the Sama Veda is nothing but the essence of Rig Veda tuned to music, melody and rhythm. Among gods, He is Vasava popularly known as Indra, king of the heaven. Among the sense organs, He is the mind. Normally we know about five sense organs only but these become redundant without mind because it is mind which stores the impressions of the sense stimuli projected upon it through the sense organs. The mind is, therefore, known as the sixth sense and the most potent among the sense organs. Among the living beings, He is intelligence, the subtlest of all organs (v.22).
Among Rudras, He is Shankar, the blessed deity of creative destruction. We find from our experience in the realm of nature that every destruction is a necessary precedent to a subsequent creation. The flower must die to yield its place to the fruit. Our sages recognized this truth and adored Shankar, the blessed deity of creative destruction. Among Yakshas and Rakshasas (demons), He is Kuber, the master of treasures. Of the Vasu-s (Vedic deities eight in number) He is Pavaka (fire); and among the mountains He is Meru, the most sacred and believed to be the centre of the universe (v.23).
Among the priests, He should be known as their chief, Brihaspati (the lord of the planet Jupiter and the spiritual teacher of gods); among generals He is Skanda, the commander-in-chief of the celestial armies; and among lakes He is the ocean (v.24).
Among the great sages, He is Bhrigu; among speech He is the sacred symbol OM; among sacrifices He is the ‘sacrifice of silent repetition’ (japa-yajna); among the immovable objects, He is the Himalayas (v.25).
Among all trees He is the Ashwattha (the holy fig-tree also known as Peepal). The Puranas speak in very high terms about this tree; among Divine Rishis, He is Narada, the celestial seer and a great devotee of Lord Vishnu; among Gandharvas (the celestial musicians, He is Chitraratha, the foremost of them all; and among perfected ones (siddha) He is Kapila Muni. The Sanskrit term muni has been derived from another significant term manana which means ‘reflection’ or ‘deep thinking’. Sage Kapila, the expounder of Samkhya school of Indian philosophy, was a great thinker and a ‘perfect one’ (v.26).
Among horses He is Ucchaishravas begotten of the churning of the ocean; among mighty elephants He is Airavata; and among men He is the king. According to a Pauranic story, the ocean was churned jointly by gods and demons for the purpose of getting Nectar out of it. During the process of this churning thirteen precious objects were found and two of these, viz. the winged-horse Ucchaishravas and the white-elephant Airavata were presented to the king of the gods, Indra (v.27).
Of weapons, He is the thunderbolt (vajra) used by the king of the gods, Indra. Of cows, He is Kamadhuk, another precious object found from the churning of the ocean. This celestial cow is said to fulfill all desires, whatever they may be. Of all the causes of procreation, He is Cupid, the god of love (Kandarpa); and of snakes, He is Vasuki described in mythology as ever living on the ring-finger of Lord Shiva (v.28).
Among Nagas (multi-hooded snake distinct from sarpa which is single-hooded), He is the mightiest Shesha-Naga also known as Ananta on which Lord Vishnu, as per Hindu mythology, reclines during His Yoga-sleep. Of the water deities, He is Varuna. Deifying the elemental forces of nature, like water, fire, and air, was the method of adoration in the early Vedic period. Later these were humanized as Pauranic gods and goddesses. Varuna is the chief of water deities. Among ancestors He is Aryma. As believed in Hinduism, even after the death of the gross body, the astral body (suksma sharer) continues to exist and is known as ancestor. These astral bodies, until they obtain a new gross body to exhaust their vasanas, reside in Pitriloka. Aryma is known as the ruler of the world-of-ancestors. Of the regulators, He is Yama, the Principle-of-Death. Each death is followed by a new birth as each destruction is followed by a new creation. As such, death is as necessary as birth for the play of the cosmic creation (v.29).
Among Daityas He is Prahlada, a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and the son of the ill-famed daitya, Hiranyakashipu. Daityas are sons of Diti, one of the thirteen wives (Diti, Aditi, Danu, Vinata etc.) of Rishi Kashyapa and as such are step-brothers of gods. Among reckoners, He is ‘Time’. Logicians have proved that ‘Time’ is the Eternal Substratum upon which the past, present and future appear by the play of the mind. Among beasts, He is lion, the lord of beasts; and among birds the famous Garuda, son of Vinata (v.30).
Among purifiers He is the wind; among wielders of weapons, He is the legendary Rama who killed the invincible Ravana; among fishes, He is the ‘shark’; and among rivers, He is the most sacred Ganga (v.31).
Among creations, He is the beginning, the middle and also the end. This is only a reiteration of the truth already explained earlier (v.20). Among sciences, He is the Science of Self and the essence of logic in all arguments. The Science of Self (adhyatma-vidya) is the ultimate knowledge (sarva vidyanam vidya). Having mastered it, no other knowledge is required as on the rise of the self-effulgent Sun no other light is required. Logic is the science of all rational thinking and as such, any thinking bereft of logic can only lead us to delusion and confusion (v.32).
Among letters of the alphabet, He is the letter ‘A’, the most prominent vowel without the support of which the majority of letters cannot be rightly pronounced. Among word-compounds, He is Dwandwa. In Sanskrit grammar there are six main word-compounds and Dwandwa, meaning dual, is one of them. It is a compound of two similar words or co-ordinates like Rama and Lakshman. Lord Krishna says that He Himself is the everlasting ‘Time’ Earlier (v.30) the word ‘time’ has been mentioned in the sense of our finite experiences of each fleeting moment. Here, ‘time’ has been mentioned in the sense of an absolute concept in which there is no past, present or future. He is also the Sustainer of the Universe; and appears manifold though essentially being one (v.33).
He is the all-devouring Death without any exception. Whatever takes birth must die according to the Law of Nature. Simultaneously, He is also the source of all that is to be or created. It has been observed earlier that He is both the efficient as well as the material cause of all creation and dissolution. Among the feminine qualities, He is fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, firmness and forgiveness. It is to be noted here that all the Sanskrit terms (kirti, shree, vak, smriti etc.) used in this verse to describe the above qualities are of feminine gender. For constrains of language, the corresponding English translations of these words do not bear the beauty meant to convey by the original Sanskrit terms. What the Lord wants to convey to Arjuna is that Life’s glory can be perceived through these qualities immanent in Him (v.34).
Among hymns He is the Brihat-Sama. The hymns of the Sama-Veda are called Samans composed in various metres, the most difficult of these being the Brihati metre. Samans composed in this metre are known as Brihat-Sama. Of all metres, He is Gayatri, considered to be the most divine and held in the highest esteem. Of all months, He is Marga-Shirsha (parts of November-December) which is extremely agreeable being neither hot nor cold, with clear sky and a lot of morning dew. Among seasons, He is the flower-bearing Spring (v.35).
Glories of the Lord are limited not only to the majestic and divine, but are also manifest in the lowest of the low. So the Lord says that He is the ‘gambling’ of the fraudulent, and also the splendour of the splendid. He is victory of one who fights; the industry of one who toils; and the goodness in the good (v.36).
Among the Vrishnis, He is Vaasudeva. The Yadava clan of Kshattriyas derives its lineage from Yadu. One of his sons was Vrishni and all his descendants are known as Vrishnis. The father of Sri Krishna, Vasudeva was a Vrishni and hence Sri Krishna was known as Vaasudeva. Among the sons of Pandu (popularly known as Pandavas), He is Dhananjaya, one of the many names of Arjuna, the greatest archer of his time. Among Muni-s (thinkers), He is Vyasa; and among poets, He is Ushana, the great Seer. It is to be noted here that ‘Vyasa’ was a pen-name for elaborate writing which began with Puranas (Vyasanaat Vyasah – one who elaborates is Vyasa). Ushana or Shukra was the preceptor of the Daityas and also a great ‘seer’. In the Vedic tradition, ‘seers’ have also been called poets (kavi) or men of inspiration (v.37).
Among punishers and chastisers, He is the ‘Sceptre’; and among those who seek victory, He is ‘State-craft’. It is a well-known fact that chastening of the people is not possible without the sceptre of law, and mere physical conquest is never complete without the intervention of statesmanship (niti or rajnaya). Among secrets, He is ‘silence’. For anything to remain a secret, it must be held in silence. Of the knower, He is the knowledge. That is to say, knowledge is the expression of the divine glory in the knower (v.38).
Thus having cited a number of analogies with regard to His glories and manifestations, Lord Krishna reverts to the point He had begun with – that He is the Eternal Seed of all beings and that there is no being, moving or unmoving, that can exist without Him. Just like a seed grows into a tree, so the Eternal Seed manifests Itself into what is called ‘creation’. All beings, sentient or insentient, spring forth from Him, enjoy their existence in Him, and ultimately dissolve into Him. Lord Krishna has reiterated this essential truth in a number of suggestive ways (v.39).
There is no end to His Divine Glories and so what has been explained earlier through numerous illustrations should be taken to be only a brief account of His glories and manifestations. In the infinite expanse of this universe, which one can perceive, feel or conceive of, whatever is glorious, prosperous and endowed with energy, should be taken as a manifestation of a part of His splendour (v.40-41).
In the concluding verse (42) of this chapter, the Lord advises Arjuna not to insist on the details of His glories, which will not be of any avail to him. It will suffice for him to know that He is the essence of all existence. Just as it is sufficient to know that clay is the essence of all clay-pots without bothering to count all of them, so it is sufficient to realize that the Lord is the essence of all that exists. And all this existence, which is known as Jagat, is sustained by a part of Himself. Jagat or the perceivable universe is the manifested form of prakriti, the lower nature of the Lord, which He sustains by His higher nature. In this context, readers are advised to refer back to verses 4-5 of chapter VII to get a clearer comprehension of this verse.
