ashwatthah sarvavrikshaanaam devarsheenaam cha naaradah
gandharvaanaam chitrarathah siddhaanaam kapilo munih // 10.26 //
Among all trees I am the Peepul; among the Divine Rishis, Narada; among Gandharvas Chitraratha; among the perfected ones, the sage Kapila.
Peepul - Both in magnitude and life span it is the largest and hence considered immortal. It has divinity attached to it and therefore worshipped. As per Upanishads and Gita itself it represents pluralistic phenomenal world. Narada - He is a great devotee of Narayana. He is the greatest sage because he guides the deluded. He has the missionary zeal and enthusiasm. Gandharvas - Celestial beings famous for their art and music. Chitraratha is the most brilliant among them noted for his singing.
Siddhas - Those who at their very birth attained virtue, wisdom and dispassion. They are great thinkers and perfected ones. Sage Kapila is the author of Sankhyan Philosophy and is the greatest thinker.
ucchaihshravasamashwaanaam viddhi maamamritodbhavam
airaavatam gajendraanaam naraanaam cha naraadhipam // 10.27 //
Know Me among horses as Ucchaisravas, born of nectar, among lordly elephants the Airavata and among men, the king.
Ucchaisravas, Airavata - The winged horse, mighty and powerful and the white elephant came up during the churning of the Milky ocean which were presented to Indra. King - Leader among men.
aayudhaanaamaham vajram dhenoonaamasmi kaamadhuk
prajanashchaasmi kandarpah sarpaanaamasmi vaasukih // 10.28 //
Among the weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am Kamadhuk; I am Kandarpa the cause for off-springs; among serpents I am Vasuki.
Vajra - An item in the divine artillery which can never be destroyed. Kamadhuk - The cow `Kamadhenu' which yields all the desired objects. Kandarpa - The Cupid, the God of Love. Vasuki - Mythological serpent living on Siva's ring finger as an ornament. This serpent served as a rope for churning the milky ocean. Sarpa is single-hooded serpent.
anantashchaasmi naagaanaam varuno yaadasaamaham
pitreenaamaryamaa chaasmi yamah samyamataamaham // 10.29 //
I am Ananta among Nagas; I am Varuna of water-deities; Aryaman of Pitris or ancestors I am; among controllers I am Yama.
Nagas - Many hooded serpents among which Sesha Naga is the mightiest and the most divine because he is the substratum upon which Vishnu, the sustainer and Brahma, the creator of the multiple worlds function. Varuna - He is the ruler of the oceans, the Lord of all waters. Aryaman - Ruler of the world of ancestors. Yama - The Lord of Death who controls life. The principle of creation has to be preceded by the principle of death. Death serves the purpose of orderly existence in the world.
prahlaadashchaasmi daityaanaam kaalah kalayataamaham
mrigaanaam cha mrigendro'ham vainateyashcha pakshinaam // 10.30 //
I am Prahlada among Daityas (Demons); among measurers I am Time; among beasts I am their king, the lion; and Garuda among birds am I.
Prahlad - Though the son of a demon king, Hiranyakashipu, Prahlad was a great devotee of Sri Krishna. Time - Time is an Eternal Factor which is divided into past, present and future by the play of mind and intellect. The Lord is thus an Infinite Substratum supporting the finite multiplicity. The Lion - Noted for its majesty, manliness and dignity among the animals. Garuda - Noted for its flight, powers of perception and the heights up to which it can soar among the birds.
pavanah pavataamasmi raamah shastrabhritaamaham
jhashaanaam makarashchaasmi srotasaamasmi jaahnavee // 10.31 //
Among purifiers I am the wind; among warriors Rama am I; among the fishes I am the shark; among the rivers I am the Ganga.
Wind - Sweeps clean every thing. Rama - A Perfect man in all aspects of life: as a son, husband, brother, friend, warrior, teacher, ruler and even as a father.
Shark - The largest and most powerful fish Jahnavi - Most sacred river Ganga.
sargaanaamaadirantashcha madhyam chaivaham arjuna
adhyaatmavidyaa vidyaanaam vaadah pravadataamaham // 10.32 //
Among creations I am the beginning, the middle and also the end, O Arjuna; among sciences I am the science of the Self and I am the logic in all arguments.
In verse 20 of this Chapter The Lord said that He is the beginning, middle and also the end of all individual beings (movable and immovable). Here He says that He is the essence of the entire creation.
The science of Self is the way to beatitude or salvation. It is not an intellectual exercise or a social adventure. It is a way to saving wisdom and so is pursued with deep conviction. Philosophy as the science of Self helps us to overcome the ignorance which hides from us the vision of Reality. Without it the sciences of objective elements become misleading.
Logic - There are various types of argumentations in logic such as vada, jalpa and vitanda. Vada (Logic) is a way of arguing by which one gets at the truth of a question without any attraction, repulsion or jealousy or for scoring victory over the other. Jalpa means assertion of one's own opinion through vehement criticism of the other's while vitanda means harping upon one's own views without caring for the opposite side. In jalpa and vitanda the aim is to gain victory over the other side.
aksharaanaamakaaro'smi dwandwah saamaasikasya cha
ahamevaakshayah kaalo dhaataaham vishwatomukah // 10.33 //
Among the letters of the alphabet, the letter `A' I am and the dual (Co-ordinates) among all compounds, I am verily, the inexhaustible or the everlasting time; I am the (all-faced) Dispenser (of fruits of actions) having faces in all directions.
The letter `A' - In Sanskrit the sound of the letter `A' preponderates in every letter which makes the pronunciation of the words very sweet and rhythmical. This letter also occupies the first place among the alphabets in all languages.
Dual- One of the Sanskrit forms of compounds is Dwandwa in which the essential elements in the components co-ordinate with each other in the newly formed compound word. Similarly the Self and the Not-Self look mixed up together constituting the world of perceptions experienced by us, but to a discriminative mind the component parts are clear.
Everlasting Time - The `Time' mentioned earlier in verse 30 is finite time while here it is mentioned as infinite. These put together mean that the Self is the substratum for both the absolute concept of Pure Time and the finite experience of each Moment. But for the awareness of each fraction of time the total concept of Time is impossible. Hence The Lord is immanent in each unit of time and also the substratum for the total time.
Dispenser - He is the sustainer of the mental impressions in every individual which determine as to how he will react with the outside world.
Facing all directions - As the Supreme Being is all pervading He is said to face all directions. In all perceptions whether physical, mental or intellectual there is the grace of Consciousness which is the Self and hence It is said to see in all directions.