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Divine Glories · 42 verses
Ask Krishna about this chapterLord Shri Krishna said: Now, O Prince! Listen to My supreme advice, which I give you for the sake of your welfare, for you are My beloved.
Neither the hosts of gods nor the great sages know My origin, for I am indeed the source of all the gods and the great sages in every way.
He who knows Me as the unborn, without beginning, the Lord of the universe, he, stripped of his delusions, becomes free from all conceivable sins.
Intelligence, wisdom, non-delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-control, calmness, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear, and fearlessness;
Nonviolence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame, and infamy — these diverse dispositions of beings arise from Me alone.
The seven great sages, the four ancient ones, and likewise the Manus, endowed with My nature, were born from My mind — from them have come forth all these creatures in…
He who truly knows this glory and yogic power of Mine becomes established in unwavering yoga — there is no doubt about this.
I am the origin of all; from Me everything proceeds. Knowing this, the wise, endowed with deep devotion, worship Me.
With their minds fixed on Me and their lives surrendered to Me, enlightening one another and always speaking of Me, they find contentment and delight.
To those who are always devout and who worship Me with love, I give the power of discrimination that leads them to Me.
Out of compassion for them alone, I, dwelling within their hearts, destroy the darkness born of ignorance with the radiant lamp of knowledge.
Arjuna asked: Thou art the Supreme Spirit, the Eternal Home, the Holiest of Holies, the Eternal Divine Self, the Primal God, the Unborn, and Omnipresent.
So have said the seers, the divine sage Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa; and Thou Thyself also sayest it.
I accept all this that You tell me as truth, O Keshava; for indeed, O Blessed Lord, neither the gods nor the demons know Your manifestation.
You alone know Yourself, by the power of Your Self; You are the Supreme Spirit, the Source and Master of all being, the Lord of Lords, the Ruler of the Universe.
You alone can describe completely Your divine manifestations, by which manifestations You pervade and abide in all these worlds.
O Master! How can I, through constant meditation, come to know You? My Lord! What are Your various manifestations through which I can meditate on You?
Tell me again, I pray, of Thy power and Thy glory in full; for I feel that I am never satisfied when I listen to Thy immortal words.
Lord Shri Krishna replied: So be it, My beloved friend! I will unfold to you some of the chief aspects of My glory. There is no end to its full extent.
O Gudakesha, I am the Self seated in the hearts of all beings; I am the beginning, the middle, and also the end of all beings.
Among the Adityas I am Vishnu; among luminaries, the radiant sun; among the Maruts I am Marichi; and among the constellations I am the moon.
Among the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; among the gods I am Vasava. Among the senses I am the mind, and among living beings I am consciousness.
Among the Rudras I am Shankara, and among the Yakshas and Rakshasas I am the lord of wealth, Kubera. Among the Vasus I am Pavaka, the fire, and among the peaked…
Among the priests, know, O Arjuna, that I am the priest Brihaspati; of generals, I am Skanda, the Commander-in-Chief, and of waters, I am the Ocean.
Of the great seers, I am Bhrigu; of words, I am Om; of offerings, I am the silent prayer; among things immovable, I am the Himalayas.
Of trees, I am the sacred fig tree; of divine seers, Narada; of heavenly singers, I am Chitraratha, their leader; and of sages, I am Kapila.
Among horses, know Me to be Uchchaihshravas, born from the nectar; among lordly elephants, I am Airavata; and among men, I am the king.
Among weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am Kamadhuk, the wish-fulfilling cow. I am Kandarpa, the god of love, among causes of procreation, and among serpents I…
Among the Nagas I am Ananta, among water-beings I am Varuna, among the ancestors I am Aryama, and among those who enforce order I am Yama.
Among the demons I am Prahlada, and among those that reckon I am time. Among animals I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuda.
I am the wind among purifiers, the king Rama among warriors; I am the crocodile among fishes, and I am the Ganges among rivers.
I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of creation; among sciences, I am the science of spirituality; I am the discussion among disputants.
Among letters I am the letter "A," and among compound words I am the Dvandva. I alone am inexhaustible Time, and I am the Creator facing in every direction.
I am all-devouring Death; I am the Origin of all that will happen; I am Fame, Fortune, Speech, Memory, Intellect, Constancy, and Forgiveness.
Among the Sama hymns I am the Brihatsama; among meters I am the Gayatri. Of the months I am Margashirsha, and of the seasons I am the flower-bearing spring.
I am the gambler's cheat and the splendor of the splendid; I am victory; I am effort; and I am the purity of the pure.
Among the Vrishnis I am Vasudeva, among the Pandavas I am Dhananjaya; among the sages I am Vyasa, and among the poets I am the poet Ushana.
I am the scepter of rulers, the strategy of conquerors, the silence of mystery, and the wisdom of the wise.
I am the seed of all beings, O Arjuna! No creature, moving or unmoving, can live without Me.
O Arjuna! The aspects of My divine life are endless; I have mentioned only a few as an example.
Whatever is glorious, excellent, beautiful, and mighty, be assured that it comes from a fragment of My splendor.
But what is the use of all these details to you, O Arjuna? I sustain this universe with only a small part of Myself.