10.24 Skanda, and the ocean Krishna speaks
पुरोधसां च मुख्यं मां विद्धि पार्थ बृहस्पतिम्
सेनानीनामहं स्कन्दः सरसामस्मि सागरः
purodhasāṁ cha mukhyaṁ māṁ viddhi pārtha bṛihaspatim
senānīnām ahaṁ skandaḥ sarasām asmi sāgaraḥ
Know me as Brihaspati among priests, son of Pritha; among warriors, Skanda; and among waters, the ocean.
Explanation
Brihaspati, Skanda, the ocean.
The chief priest among priests, the war-god among warriors, and the sea among waters.
The pattern is holding: in each category, the superlative member. What makes the list worth reading slowly is how ordinary some of the categories are — waters, mountains, trees, months.
Word by word
- purodhasām
- amongst priests
- cha
- and
- mukhyam
- the chiefs
- mām
- me
- viddhi
- know
- pārtha
- Arjun, the son of Pritha
- bṛihaspatim
- Brihaspati
- senānīnām
- warrior chief
- aham
- I
- skandaḥ
- Kartikeya
- sarasām
- amongst reservoirs of water
- asmi
- I am
- sāgaraḥ
- the ocean
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