Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 19

Chapter 10 – Vibhuti Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
हन्त ते कथयिष्यामि दिव्या ह्यात्मविभूतयः ।
प्राधान्यतः कुरुश्रेष्ठ नास्त्यन्तो विस्तरस्य मे ॥

Transliteration

śrībhagavānuvāca .
hanta te kathayiṣyāmi divyā hyātmavibhūtayaḥ .
prādhānyataḥ kuruśreṣṭha nāstyanto vistarasya me ॥

Meaning

The Blessed Lord said: Very well, O best of the Kurus, I shall tell you of My divine glories, but only the chief among them, for there is no end to My expansion.

Word meanings

श्रीभगवान् उवाच – the Blessed Lord said
हन्त – very well (expressing affection)
ते – to you
कथयिष्यामि – I shall tell
दिव्याः – divine
हि – indeed
आत्मविभूतयः – My own glories
प्राधान्यतः – according to prominence, the chief ones
कुरुश्रेष्ठ – O best of the Kurus
न – not
अस्ति – is
अन्तः – end
विस्तरस्य – of the extent
मे – of My

Anvaya (word order)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच — कुरुश्रेष्ठ, हन्त, (अहं) ते दिव्याः आत्मविभूतयः प्राधान्यतः कथयिष्यामि; हि मे विस्तरस्य अन्तः न अस्ति ।

Explanation

Hearing Arjuna’s loving request, Krishna is pleased. The word hanta expresses delight and affection, like saying ‘Very well, listen!’ Shankara reads it as an expression of compassion: seeing Arjuna’s eagerness, the Lord’s heart melts.

‘I shall tell you My divine glories according to their prominence.’ Arjuna had asked for an account ‘without remainder’ (asheshena), but Krishna promises to tell ‘the chief ones’ (pradhanyatah). He gives the reason: ‘there is no end to My expansion.’ How could the infinite be fully expressed in finite words? As the whole ocean cannot be poured into a jar, the totality of the Lord’s glories cannot fit into any description.

So Krishna chooses the finest in each class: the greatest among the gods, the highest among mountains, the holiest among rivers. This is a beautiful teaching method. If the seeker learns to see God at the summit of each category, gradually he will begin to see Him in everything within it.

The address Kurushreshtha, ‘best of the Kurus’, is meaningful too. Krishna calls Arjuna the finest of his line, as if to say that Arjuna is himself a vibhuti of his family. In verse 37 He will say exactly that: ‘among the Pandavas I am Dhananjaya.’

Context

From verse 12 to 18 Arjuna praised and petitioned the Lord. Here Krishna begins His reply, saying He will describe the principal glories. In the next verse He names the first and most fundamental vibhuti of all: the Self seated in the heart of every being.

Life lesson

The infinite cannot be known in full, but by seeing its chief glimpses we can move towards it. Practise seeing God in the finest thing of every field; that practice will gradually lead to seeing Him in all.

Key terms

Hanta: an exclamation of delight and compassion
Pradhanyatah: according to prominence, the chief ones
Vistara: extent, expansion
Kurushreshtha: best of the Kurus, Arjuna