7.8 The taste in water Krishna speaks
रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः
प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु
raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣhu śhabdaḥ khe pauruṣhaṁ nṛiṣhu
I am the taste in water, son of Kunti; the light in moon and sun; the syllable Om in all the Vedas; sound in space; and the courage in a person.
Explanation
The taste in water. The light in moon and sun.
Then the syllable Om in the Vedas, sound in space, and — the one that changes the list — the courage in a person.
Of everything in the Gita this is the passage that most rewards being read slowly. The claim is not that he made these things; it is that he is the quality itself, the taste rather than the water.
Going further
Word by word
- rasaḥ
- taste
- aham
- I
- apsu
- in water
- kaunteya
- Arjun, the son of Kunti
- prabhā
- the radiance
- asmi
- I am
- śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ
- of the moon and the sun
- praṇavaḥ
- the sacred syllable Om
- sarva
- in all
- vedeṣhu
- Vedas
- śhabdaḥ
- sound
- khe
- in ether
- pauruṣham
- ability
- nṛiṣhu
- in humans
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I am the taste in water. The light in moon and sun. Sound in space. The fragrance of the earth.
Of everything in the Gita this is the passage that most rewards being read slowly outdoors. It does not name grand things; it names the qualities by which ordinary things are perceptible at all. Taste, light, sound, smell — not the objects but what makes them arrive.