6. Bhishma
[(Bhagavad Gita Chapter X)]

"The Holy One said, 'Once more still, O mighty-armed one, listen to my
supernal words which, from desire of (thy) good, I say unto thee that
wouldst be pleased (therewith).Telang renders Paramam 'excellent'; Mr. John Davies, 'all important'. The meaning is referring to the 'Supreme Soul'. The hosts of gods know not my
origin, nor the great Rishis, since I am, in every way, the source of the
gods and the great Rishis.Both Sankara and Sreedhara explain Sarvassas as "in every way". i.e., as creator, as guide, &c. He that knoweth me as the Supreme Lord of
the worlds, without birth and beginning, (he), undeluded among mortals,
is free from all sins. Intelligence, knowledge, the absence of delusion,
forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, and tranquillity, pleasure, pain,
birth, death, fear, and also security, abstention from harm, evenness of
mind, contentment, ascetic austerities, gift, fame, infamy, these several
attributes of creatures arise from me. The Seven great Rishis, the four
Maharishis before (them), and the Manus, partaking of my nature, were
born from my mind, of whom in this world are these offsprings.Prajas offspring, including, as Sankara says, both mobile, and immobile, therefore, not mankind alone. He
that knoweth truly this pre-eminence and mystic power of mine, becometh
possessed of unswerving devotion. Of this (there is) no doubt. I am the
origin of all things, from me all things proceed. Thinking thus, the
wise, endued with my nature, worship me.Bhava-samanwitas is explained by Sreedhara as "full of love", which K. T. Telang accepts. Sankara explains it as "endued with penetration into the knowledge of the Supreme object." Their hearts on me, their
lives devoted to me, instructing one another, and gloryfying me they are
ever contented and happy.Tityam, ever, is connected with what follows and not what precedes. Thus Sreedhara. Mr. Davies connects it with Kathayantas. Unto them always devoted, and worshipping
(me) with love, I give that devotion in the form of knowledge by which
they come to me.K. T. Telang renders buddhi-yogam as knowledge; Mr. Davies, as mental devotion and Sankara, "devotion by special insight." Of them, for compassion's sake. I destroy the
darkness born of ignorance, by the brilliant lamp of knowledge, (myself)
dwelling in their souls.'

"Arjuna said, 'Thou art the Supreme Brahma, the Supreme Abode, the
Holiest of the Holy, the eternal Male Being Divine, the First of gods
Unborn, the Lord. All the Rishis proclaim thee thus, and also the
celestial Rishi Narada; and Asita, Devala, (and) Vyasa; thyself also
tellest me (so). All this that thou tellest me, O Kesava, I regard as
true since, O Holy One, neither the gods nor the Danavas understand thy
manifestation. Thou only knowest thyself by thyself. O Best of Male
Beings. O Creator of all things; O Lord of all things, O God of gods, O
Lord of the Universe, it behoveth thee to declare without any
reservation, those divine perfections of thine by which perfections
pervading these worlds thou abidest. How shall I, ever meditating, know
thee, O thou of mystic powers, in what particular states mayst thou, O
Holy One, be meditated upon by me?To know thee fully is impossible. In what particular forms or manifestations, therefore, shall I think of thee? The word Bhava in the second line is rendered "entities" by K. T. Telang, and "form of being" by Mr. Davies. Do thou again, O Janardana,
copiously declare thy mystic powers and (thy) perfections, for I am never
satiated with hearing thy nectar-like words."

"The Holy One said,—'Well, unto thee I will declare my divine
perfections, by means of the principal ones (among them), O chief of the
Kurus, for there is no end to the extent of my (perfections).Vistarasya evidently refers (as explained by all the commentators) to Vibhutinam. it is a question of grammar and not of doctrine that there can be any difference of opinion. Mr. Davies, however, renders it "of (my) greatness." This is inaccurate. I am
the soul, O thou of curly hair, seated in the heart of every being, I am
the beginning, and the middle, and the end also of all beings. I am
Vishnu among the Adityas, the resplendent Sun among all luminous bodies;
I am Marichi among the Maruts, and the Moon among constellations.The Adityas are the solar deities, twelve in number, corresponding to the twelve months of the year. The Maruts are the wind-gods, whose chief is Marichi. I
am the Sama Veda among the Vedas; I am Vasava among the gods; I am the
mind among the senses; I am the intellect in (living) beings. I am
Sankara among the Rudras, the Lord of treasures among the Yakshas and the
Rakshasas; I am Pavaka among the Vasus, and Meru among the peaked
(mountains). The Rudras are a class of destructive gods, eleven in number. The Vasus are an inferior class of deities, eight in number. The lord of treasures is Kuvera. Know me, O son of Pritha, to be Vrihaspati, the chief
of household priests. I am Skanda among commanders of forces. I am Ocean
among receptacles of water. I am Bhrigu among the great Rishis, I am the
One, undestructible (syllable Om) among words. Of sacrifices I am the
Japa-sacrifice.The Japa-sacrifice is the sacrifice by meditation which is superior to all sacrifices. Of immobiles I am the Himavat. I am the figtree
among all trees, I am Narada among the celestial Rishis. I am Chitraratha
among the Gandharvas and the ascetic Kapila among ascetics crowned with
Yoga success. Know me to be Uchchaisravas among horses, brought forth by
(the churning for) nectar, Airavata among princely elephants, and the
king among men. Among weapons I am the thunderbolt, among cows I am (she
called) Kamadhuk. I am Kandarpa the cause of reproduction, I am Vasuki
among serpents.Kamadhuk, the wish-giving cow called Surabhi. The cause of re-production, i.e., I am not the mere carnal passion, but that passion which procreates or is crowned with fruit. I am Ananta among Nagas, I am Varuna among acquatic
beings, I am Aryaman among the Pitris, and Yama among those that judge
and punish.In 28, Vasuki is called the chief of the Sarpas (serpents); in 29 Ananta is spoken of as the chief of the Nagas. The latter are Sarpas as well, Sreedhara says that the distinction lies in the fact of the Nagas being without poison. This is hardly correct. I am Prahlada among the Daityas, and Time among things
that count. I am the lion among the beasts, and Vinata's son among winged
creatures. Of purifiers I am the wind. I am Rama among wielders of
weapons. I am the Makara among fishes, and I am Jahnavi (Ganga) among
streams.Pavatam may also mean "of those that have motion." Rama is Dasaratha's son, the hero of Valmiki's poem. Ganga is called Jahnavi because she was, after having been drunk up, let out by the ascetic Jahnu through his knee. Of created things I am the beginning and the end and also
the middle, O Arjuna. I am the knowledge of Supreme Spirit among all
kinds of knowledge, and the disputation among disputants.Mr. Davies renders Vedas 'Pravadatam' as "the speech of those that speak." K. T. Telang renders it "the argument of controversialists." Among all
letters I am the letter A, and (the compound called) Dwanda among all
compounds. I am also Time Eternal, and I am the Ordainer with face turned
on every side.A, or rather the sound of A as in full, is the initial letter of the Sanskrit alphabet. Of compounds, the Dwanda, or the copulative compound, is enumerated first. In other respects again, the Dwanda is the best kind of compound for the words forming it are co-ordinate, without one being dependent on the other or others. I am Death that seizeth all, and the source of all,
that is to be. Among females, I am Fame, Fortune, Speech, Memory,
Intelligence, Constancy, Forgiveness. Of the Sama hymns, I am the
Vrihat-sama and Gayatri among metres. Of the months, I am Margasirsha, of
the seasons (I am) that which is productive of flowers.The Vrihat-saman is said to be the best, because it leads to emancipation at once. Thus Sankara. The Margasirsha is the month from the middle of February to the middle of March. Productive of flowers, i.e., the Spring. I am the
game of dice of them that cheat, and the splendour of those that are
splendid. I am Victory, I am Exertion, I am the goodness of the good. I
am Vasudeva among the Vrishnis, I am Dhananjaya among the sons of Pandu.
I am even Vyasa among the ascetics, and Usanas among seers. I am the Rod
of those that chastise, I am the Policy of those that seek victory. I am
silence among those that are secret. I am the Knowledge of those that are
possessed of Knowledge. That which is the Seed of all things, I am that,
O Arjuna. There is nothing mobile or immobile, which can exist without
me. There is no end, O chastiser of foes, of my divine perfections. This
recital of the extent of (those) perfections hath been uttered by me by
way (only) of instancing them. Whatever of exalted things (there is) or
glorious, or strong, understand thou that everything is born of a portion
of my energy. Or rather, what hast thou to do, by knowing all this in
detail, O Arjuna? Supporting this entire universe with only a portion (of
myself), I stand.Mr. Davies renders the last line of this verse as "I have established in continuance all this universe by one part myself." This is both obscure and inaccurate. "