aham

यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान्

aham — I

so that I may see those standing here eager for battle, and know with whom I must fight in this undertaking of war.

कथं भीष्ममहं संख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन

aham — I

How am I to fight Bhishma and Drona with arrows, Krishna? They deserve my reverence.

कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसंमूढचेताः

aham — I

My own nature is undone by this failure of nerve; my sense of what is right is confused. I ask you: tell me plainly what is best. I am your pupil. Instruct me.

न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः

aham — I

There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these kings; and there will never be a time when any of us cease to be.

व्यामिश्रेणेव वाक्येन बुद्धिं मोहयसीव मे

aham — I

Your words seem to point two ways, and they confuse me. Tell me plainly which one thing will lead me to the good.

यदि ह्यहं न वर्तेयं जातु कर्मण्यतन्द्रितः

aham — I

For if I did not always act, and act with care, people would follow my path,

उत्सीदेयुरिमे लोका न कुर्यां कर्म चेदहम्

aham — I

and these worlds would fall to ruin. I would be the cause of chaos, and I would destroy these beings.

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः

ahankāra-vimūḍha-ātmā — those who are bewildered by the ego and misidentify themselves with the body

All actions are carried out by the strands of nature. But one deluded by the sense of self thinks: I am the doer.

इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम्

aham — I

I taught this imperishable yoga to Vivasvan; Vivasvan taught it to Manu; and Manu to Ikshvaku.

बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन

aham — I

Many births of mine have passed, Arjuna, and of yours. I know them all; you do not.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत

aham — I

Whenever what is right declines and what is wrong rises up, then I bring myself forth.

ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम्

aham — I

However people come to me, so I meet them. All paths are mine, son of Pritha.

यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति

aham — I

One who sees me everywhere and sees everything in me — I am never lost to that person, nor is that person lost to me.

योऽयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मधुसूदन

aham — I

This yoga of evenness you have described, Krishna — I do not see how it can hold, because the mind is unsteady.

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम्

aham — I

The mind is restless, Krishna, turbulent, strong and stubborn. Holding it seems to me as hard as holding the wind.

ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः

aham — I

I will tell you this knowledge in full, together with what is realised through it, knowing which nothing further remains to be known here.

एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय

aham — I

Know that all beings have their source in these two. I am the origin of the whole world, and its dissolution.

रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः

aham — I

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.

बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम्

aham — I

Know me as the eternal seed of all beings, son of Pritha. I am the understanding of the understanding, the splendour of the splendid.

बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम्

aham — I

I am the strength of the strong, free of desire and craving. I am the desire in beings that does not go against what is right.

ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये

aham — I

Whatever states arise from clarity, from restlessness, or from inertia — know that they come from me. I am not in them; they are in me.

तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्ितर्विशिष्यते

aham — I

Of these, the one who knows — always steady, devoted to the one thing — stands out. I am dear to that person, and that person is dear to me.

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति

aham — I

Whatever form anyone wishes to worship with faith, I make their faith in it steady.

नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः

aham — I

I am not manifest to everyone; I am veiled by my own power. The deluded world does not know me, unborn and unchanging.

वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन

aham — I

I know all beings past, present and yet to come, Arjuna — but no one knows me.

अधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम्

aham — I

The ground of matter is perishable nature; the ground of the gods is the cosmic person; and I am the lord of offerings, here in this body, best of the embodied.

अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः

aham — I

For the one whose mind does not turn elsewhere, who remembers me constantly and always, I am easy to reach, son of Pritha.

मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना

aham — I

By me, in my unmanifest form, all this world is pervaded. All beings rest in me; I do not rest in them.

सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम्

aham — I

At the end of an age all beings merge into my nature, son of Kunti; and at the beginning of the next I send them forth again.

अहं क्रतुरहं यज्ञः स्वधाऽहमहमौषधम्

aham — I

I am the rite, I am the offering, I am the oblation to the ancestors, I am the herb, I am the sacred word, I am the clarified butter, I am the fire, and I am the pouring.

पिताऽहमस्य जगतो माता धाता पितामहः

aham — I

I am the father of this world, and the mother, the sustainer, the grandsire; the object of knowledge, the purifier, the syllable Om, and the three Vedas.

तपाम्यहमहं वर्षं निगृह्णाम्युत्सृजामि च

aham — I

I give heat; I withhold the rain and I send it. I am deathlessness and I am death; I am what is, and what is not, Arjuna.

अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते

aham — I

Those who think of nothing else and worship me constantly — for them, always steady, I carry what they need.

अहं हि सर्वयज्ञानां भोक्ता च प्रभुरेव च

aham — I

For I am the one who receives every offering, and its lord. But they do not know me as I am, and so they fall.

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति

aham — I

A leaf, a flower, a fruit, water — whoever offers me these with devotion, I accept that offering from one who has given it with a pure heart.

समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रियः

aham — I

I am the same in all beings. No one is hateful to me and no one dear. But those who worship me with devotion are in me, and I am in them.

भूय एव महाबाहो श्रृणु मे परमं वचः

aham — I

Hear again my highest word, mighty-armed one, which I speak to you because you are dear to me and for your good.

न मे विदुः सुरगणाः प्रभवं न महर्षयः

aham — I

Neither the hosts of gods nor the great seers know my origin. I am the source of the gods and of the great seers, in every way.

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते

aham — I

I am the origin of all; from me everything proceeds. Knowing this, the wise worship me with feeling.

तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः

aham — I

Out of compassion for them alone, I destroy the darkness born of ignorance with the light of knowledge, standing in their own being.

अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः

aham — I

I am the self seated in the heart of all beings. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of beings.

आदित्यानामहं विष्णुर्ज्योतिषां रविरंशुमान्

aham — I

Among the sons of Aditi I am Vishnu; among lights, the radiant sun; among the winds, Marichi; among the stars I am the moon.

रुद्राणां शङ्करश्चास्मि वित्तेशो यक्षरक्षसाम्

aham — I am

Among the Rudras I am Shiva; among the spirits and demons, the lord of wealth; among the Vasus, fire; and among mountains, Meru.

पुरोधसां च मुख्यं मां विद्धि पार्थ बृहस्पतिम्

aham — I

Know me as Brihaspati among priests, son of Pritha; among warriors, Skanda; and among waters, the ocean.

महर्षीणां भृगुरहं गिरामस्म्येकमक्षरम्

aham — I

Among the great seers I am Bhrigu; among words, the single syllable; among offerings, the offering of silent repetition; and among unmoving things, the Himalaya.

आयुधानामहं वज्रं धेनूनामस्मि कामधुक्

aham — I

Among weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows, the wish-granting cow; among causes of birth, desire; and among serpents, Vasuki.

अनन्तश्चास्मि नागानां वरुणो यादसामहम्

aham — I

Among the great snakes I am Ananta; among water-dwellers, Varuna; among the ancestors, Aryama; and among those who govern, Death.

प्रह्लादश्चास्मि दैत्यानां कालः कलयतामहम्

aham — I

Among the demons I am Prahlada; among reckoners, Time; among animals, the lion; and among birds, Garuda.

पवनः पवतामस्मि रामः शस्त्रभृतामहम्

aham — I am

Among purifiers I am the wind; among bearers of weapons, Rama; among fishes, the crocodile; and among rivers, the Ganges.

सर्गाणामादिरन्तश्च मध्यं चैवाहमर्जुन

aham — I

I am the beginning, the middle and the end of creations, Arjuna. Among knowledges, the knowledge of the self; and among those who argue, the argument.

अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च

aham — I

Among letters I am A; among compounds, the pair. I am imperishable Time, and I am the maker who faces every way.

मृत्युः सर्वहरश्चाहमुद्भवश्च भविष्यताम्

aham — I

I am death, which carries everything off, and the origin of what is yet to be. Among what is feminine I am fame, fortune, speech, memory, wisdom, steadfastness and patience.

बृहत्साम तथा साम्नां गायत्री छन्दसामहम्

aham — I

Among the hymns of the Sama I am the Brihat; among metres, the Gayatri; among months, Margashirsha; and among seasons, the flowering spring.

द्यूतं छलयतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम्

aham — I

I am the gambling of the deceitful and the brilliance of the brilliant. I am victory; I am resolve; I am the goodness of the good.

वृष्णीनां वासुदेवोऽस्मि पाण्डवानां धनंजयः

aham — I

Among the Vrishnis I am Vasudeva; among the Pandavas, Arjuna; among sages, Vyasa; and among the wise, Ushana.

दण्डो दमयतामस्मि नीतिरस्मि जिगीषताम्

aham — I

I am the rod of those who restrain, the strategy of those who seek to win. I am the silence of secret things, and the knowledge of those who know.

यच्चापि सर्वभूतानां बीजं तदहमर्जुन

aham — I

And whatever is the seed of all beings, that am I, Arjuna. There is nothing that moves or does not move that exists without me.

अथवा बहुनैतेन किं ज्ञातेन तवार्जुन

aham — I

But what need is there of all this detail, Arjuna? I stand supporting this whole world with a single part of myself.

रूपं महत्ते बहुवक्त्रनेत्रं महाबाहो बहुबाहूरुपादम्

aham — I

Seeing your immense form, mighty-armed one, with many mouths and eyes, many arms, thighs and feet, many bellies and many terrible teeth, the worlds tremble, and so do I.

यच्चावहासार्थमसत्कृतोऽसि विहारशय्यासनभोजनेषु

aham — I

and for whatever disrespect I showed you in jest, at play or at rest, sitting or eating, alone or in company — for all that I ask your forgiveness, immeasurable one.

तस्मात्प्रणम्य प्रणिधाय कायं प्रसादये त्वामहमीशमीड्यम्

aham — I

So I bow down, I prostrate my body, and I ask your grace, lord worthy of worship. As a father bears with a son, a friend with a friend, a lover with the beloved — bear with me.

किरीटिनं गदिनं चक्रहस्त मिच्छामि त्वां द्रष्टुमहं तथैव

aham — I

I wish to see you as before — crowned, bearing the club, the disc in your hand. Take on that four-armed form, thousand-armed one of universal form.

न वेदयज्ञाध्ययनैर्न दानै र्न च क्रियाभिर्न तपोभिरुग्रैः

aham — I

Not by study of the Vedas, not by offerings, not by giving, not by rites, not by severe austerity can I be seen in this form in the world of men by anyone but you.

नाहं वेदैर्न तपसा न दानेन न चेज्यया

aham — I

Not by the Vedas, not by austerity, not by giving, not by worship can I be seen as you have seen me.

भक्त्या त्वनन्यया शक्यमहमेवंविधोऽर्जुन

aham — I

But by devotion turned nowhere else I can be known in this way, Arjuna, and seen, and entered.

तेषामहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्युसंसारसागरात्

aham — I

for them, whose thought is on me, I am soon the one who lifts them out of the ocean of death and rebirth.

मम योनिर्महद्ब्रह्म तस्मिन् गर्भं दधाम्यहम्

aham — I

My womb is the great nature; in it I place the seed, and from that comes the birth of all beings, Arjuna.

सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः

aham — I

Whatever forms arise in any womb, son of Kunti, the great nature is their womb, and I am the father who gives the seed.

ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाऽहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च

aham — I

For I am the ground of Brahman — of the deathless, the imperishable, the everlasting, and of what is right, and of happiness that does not end.

गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा

aham — I

Entering the earth, I support all beings by my strength; and becoming the moisture of taste, I nourish all plants.

अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः

aham — I

Becoming the fire of digestion in the bodies of the living, I take in the fourfold food with the outgoing and incoming breath.

सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च

aham — I

And I am seated in the hearts of all. From me come memory and knowledge, and their loss. I am what is to be known through all the Vedas; I am the maker of their meaning, and the knower of them.

यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः

aham — I

Because I am beyond the perishable and higher even than the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the highest person.

असौ मया हतः शत्रुर्हनिष्ये चापरानपि

aham — I

That enemy I have killed, and I shall kill the others too. I am the lord, I am the enjoyer, I am successful, strong and happy.

तानहं द्विषतः क्रूरान्संसारेषु नराधमान्

aham — I

These hateful and cruel ones, the lowest of people, I cast again and again into wombs of the same nature, in the round of birth.

सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज

aham — I

Let go of every duty and take refuge in me alone. I will free you from all wrongdoing. Do not grieve.

अध्येष्यते च य इमं धर्म्यं संवादमावयोः

aham — I

And one who studies this dialogue of ours, which is holy, worships me by the offering of knowledge. This is my view.

इत्यहं वासुदेवस्य पार्थस्य च महात्मनः

aham — I

So I have heard this wonderful dialogue between Krishna and the great-souled Arjuna, and my hair stands on end.

व्यासप्रसादाच्छ्रुतवानेतद्गुह्यमहं परम्

aham — I

By the grace of Vyasa I have heard this highest secret, this yoga, spoken by Krishna himself, the master of yoga, in person.