Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 41

Chapter 10 – Vibhuti Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा ।
तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं मम तेजोंऽशसम्भवम् ॥

Transliteration

yadyadvibhūtimatsattvaṃ śrīmadūrjitameva vā .
tattadevāvagaccha tvaṃ mama tejoṃśasambhavam ॥

Meaning

Whatever being is glorious, prosperous or mighty, know that it has sprung from but a spark of My splendour.

Word meanings

यत् यत् – whatever
विभूतिमत् – glorious, possessed of excellence
सत्त्वम् – being, entity
श्रीमत् – prosperous, beautiful
ऊर्जितम् – mighty, powerful
एव – indeed
वा – or
तत् तत् – that
एव – alone
अवगच्छ – know, understand
त्वम् – you
मम – My
तेजोंऽशसम्भवम् – born of a fraction of My splendour

Anvaya (word order)

यत् यत् विभूतिमत्, श्रीमत्, ऊर्जितम् एव वा सत्त्वं (अस्ति), तत् तत् एव त्वं मम तेजोंऽशसम्भवम् अवगच्छ ।

Explanation

This verse is the essence and key of the Vibhuti Yoga. In the previous verse Krishna said that His glories are endless and that He has given only examples. Now He offers a universal rule by which Arjuna, and every seeker, can recognise the Lord’s glory anywhere in the world without any list. It is like teaching someone to fish rather than handing over a fish.

He names three marks. First, vibhutimat: whatever possesses special sovereignty, mastery or extraordinary capacity, a great ruler, scientist or artist. Second, shrimat: whatever has grace, beauty, radiance and prosperity, a blooming lotus, a beautiful piece of music, a flourishing and just kingdom. Third, urjitam: whatever has exceptional strength, vigour or energy, a storm, a heroic warrior, a person of unshakable resolve. Shankara glosses them as endowed with lordship, with fortune, and with zeal and strength.

Tat tad evavagaccha tvam mama tejo-’msha-sambhavam, ‘know that to have sprung from a fraction of My splendour’. The word amsha, fraction, is crucial. Even the greatest thing in the world is not the Lord’s full splendour but only a tiny portion of it. A single ray of sunlight can light a whole room, yet that ray is an insignificant fraction of the sun. If a fraction is so wonderful, how wonderful must the whole Lord be! Ramanuja says that wherever extraordinary excellence appears, it is the result of a particle of the Lord’s radiance.

Two profound practical consequences follow. First, the end of pride: if I have talent, beauty, wealth or power, it is not mine but a portion of God’s splendour, and this brings humility. Second, the end of envy: if someone else has these qualities, that too is God’s light; to envy them is to envy God. To appreciate them instead is to praise God.

As a practice, the verse offers a simple discipline. Whenever you see something beautiful, great or powerful, a Himalayan peak, a musician’s song, an athlete’s skill, a mother’s selfless love, say inwardly, ‘This is a spark of the Lord’s splendour.’ The whole world then becomes an object of meditation, and every experience of beauty a door to remembering God.

Context

In verse 40 Krishna said His glories are endless and He has told only a brief sample. Here He gives the universal rule for recognising them. In the next and final verse He says that such detail is not even needed, for He sustains the entire universe with a single fraction of Himself.

Life lesson

Wherever you see extraordinary talent, beauty or power, recognise in it a spark of God’s splendour. Do not be proud of your gifts or envious of others’; both are light from the same source. Let every beauty in the world become a reminder of the Lord.

Key terms

Vibhutimat: endowed with special glory and mastery
Shrimat: endowed with grace, beauty and prosperity
Urjita: endowed with strength, vigour and energy
Tejo-’msha: a fraction of the Lord’s splendour
Sattva: here, any being or entity