10.23 Shiva, fire, and Meru Krishna speaks
रुद्राणां शङ्करश्चास्मि वित्तेशो यक्षरक्षसाम्
वसूनां पावकश्चास्मि मेरुः शिखरिणामहम्
rudrāṇāṁ śhaṅkaraśh chāsmi vitteśho yakṣha-rakṣhasām
vasūnāṁ pāvakaśh chāsmi meruḥ śhikhariṇām aham
Among the Rudras I am Shiva; among the spirits and demons, the lord of wealth; among the Vasus, fire; and among mountains, Meru.
Explanation
Shiva among the Rudras.
And the lord of wealth among spirits, fire among the Vasus, Meru among mountains.
Naming Shiva inside a list of one's own glories is the kind of thing that makes this chapter theologically generous rather than competitive. The other gods are not rivals here; they are instances.
Word by word
- rudrāṇām
- amongst the Rudras
- śhaṅkaraḥ
- Lord Shiv
- cha
- and
- asmi
- I am
- vitta-īśhaḥ
- the god of wealth and the treasurer of the celestial gods
- yakṣha
- amongst the semi-divine demons
- rakṣhasām
- amongst the demons
- vasūnām
- amongst the Vasus
- pāvakaḥ
- Agni (fire)
- cha
- and
- asmi
- I am
- meruḥ
- Mount Meru
- śhikhariṇām
- amongst the mountains
- aham
- I am
Long-press or right-click the image to copy it. Nothing is uploaded — it is drawn here, on your device.