TEXT 27
उच्चैःश्रवसमश्वानां विद्धि माममृतोद्भवम् ।
ऐरावतं गजेन्द्राणां नराणां च नराधिपम् ।। 27 ।।
uccaiḥśravasam aśvānāṁ
viddhi mām amṛtodbhavam
airāvataṁ gajendrāṇāṁ
narāṇāṁ ca narādhipam
uccaiḥśravasam – Uccaiḥśravā; aśvānām – among horses; viddhi – know; mām – Me; amṛta-udbhavam – produced from the churning of the ocean; airāvatam – Airāvata; gaja-indrāṇām – of lordly elephants; narāṇām – among human beings; ca – and; nara-adhipam – the king.
Of horses know Me to be Uccaiḥśravā, produced during the churning of the ocean for nectar. Of lordly elephants I am Airāvata, and among men I am the monarch.
The devotee demigods and the demons (asuras) once took part in churning the sea. From this churning, nectar and poison were produced, and Lord Śiva drank the poison. From the nectar were produced many entities, of which there was a horse named Uccaiḥśravā. Another animal produced from the nectar was an elephant named Airāvata. Because these two animals were produced from nectar, they have special significance, and they are representatives of Kṛṣṇa.
Amongst the human beings, the king is the representative of Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa is the maintainer of the universe, and the kings, who are appointed on account of their godly qualifications, are maintainers of their kingdoms. Kings like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Lord Rāma were all highly righteous kings who always thought of the citizens’ welfare. In Vedic literature, the king is considered to be the representative of God. In this age, however, with the corruption of the principles of religion, monarchy decayed and is now finally abolished. It is to be understood that in the past, however, people were more happy under righteous kings.
TEXT 28
आयुधानामहं वज्रं धेनूनामस्मि कामधुक् ।
प्रजनश्चास्मि कन्दर्पः सर्पाणामस्मि वासुकिः ।। 28 ।।
āyudhānām ahaṁ vajraṁ
dhenūnām asmi kāma-dhuk
prajanaś cāsmi kandarpaḥ
sarpāṇām asmi vāsukiḥ
āyudhānām – of all weapons; aham – I am; vajram – the thunderbolt; dhenūnām – of cows; asmi – I am; kāma-dhuk – the surabhi cow; prajanaḥ – the cause for begetting children; ca – and; asmi – I am; kandarpaḥ – Cupid; sarpāṇām – of serpents; asmi – I am; vāsukiḥ – Vāsuki.
Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the surabhi. Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vāsuki.
The thunderbolt, indeed a mighty weapon, represents Kṛṣṇa’s power. In Kṛṣṇaloka in the spiritual sky there are cows which can be milked at any time, and they give as much milk as one likes. Of course such cows do not exist in this material world, but there is mention of them in Kṛṣṇaloka. The Lord keeps many such cows, which are called surabhi. It is stated that the Lord is engaged in herding the surabhi cows. Kandarpa is the sex desire for presenting good sons; therefore Kandarpa is the representative of Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes sex is engaged in only for sense gratification; such sex does not represent Kṛṣṇa. But sex for the generation of good children is called Kandarpa and represents Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 29
अनन्तश्चास्मि नागानां वरुणो यादसामहम् ।
पितृणामर्यमा चास्मि यमः संयमतामहम् ।। 29 ।।
anantaś cāsmi nāgānāṁ
varuṇo yādasām aham
pitṝṇām aryamā cāsmi
yamaḥ saṁyamatām aham
anantaḥ – Ananta; ca – also; asmi – I am; nāgānām – of the many-hooded serpents; varuṇaḥ – the demigod controlling the water; yādasām – of all aquatics; aham – I am; pitṝṇām – of the ancestors; aryamā – Aryamā; ca – also; asmi – I am; yamaḥ – the controller of death; saṁyamatām – of all regulators; aham – I am.
Of the many-hooded Nāgas I am Ananta, and among the aquatics I am the demigod Varuṇa. Of departed ancestors I am Aryamā, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, the lord of death.
Among the many-hooded Nāga serpents, Ananta is the greatest, as is the demigod Varuṇa among the aquatics. They both represent Kṛṣṇa. There is also a planet of Pitās, ancestors, presided over by Aryamā, who represents Kṛṣṇa. There are many living entities who give punishment to the miscreants, and among them Yama is the chief. Yama is situated in a planet near this earthly planet. After death those who are very sinful are taken there, and Yama arranges different kinds of punishments for them.
TEXT 30
प्रह्लादश्चास्मि दैत्यानां कालः कलयतामहम् ।
मृगाणां च मृगेन्द्रोऽहं वैनतेयश्च पक्षिणाम् ।। 30 ।।
prahlādaś cāsmi daityānāṁ
kālaḥ kalayatām aham
mṛgāṇāṁ ca mṛgendro ’haṁ
vainateyaś ca pakṣiṇām
prahlādaḥ – Prahlāda; ca – also; asmi – I am; daityānām – of the demons; kālaḥ – time; kalayatām – of subduers; aham – I am; mṛgāṇām – of animals; ca – and; mṛga-indraḥ – the lion; aham – I am; vainateyaḥ – Garuḍa; ca – also; pakṣiṇām – of birds.
Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa.
Diti and Aditi are two sisters. The sons of Aditi are called Ādityas, and the sons of Diti are called Daityas. All the Ādityas are devotees of the Lord, and all the Daityas are atheistic. Although Prahlāda was born in the family of the Daityas, he was a great devotee from his childhood. Because of his devotional service and godly nature, he is considered to be a representative of Kṛṣṇa.
There are many subduing principles, but time wears down all things in the material universe and so represents Kṛṣṇa. Of the many animals, the lion is the most powerful and ferocious, and of the million varieties of birds, Garuḍa, the bearer of Lord Viṣṇu, is the greatest.
TEXT 31
पवनः पवतामस्मि रामः शस्त्रभृतामहम् ।
झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मि जाह्नवी ।। 31 ।।
pavanaḥ pavatām asmi
rāmaḥ śastra-bhṛtām aham
jhaṣāṇāṁ makaraś cāsmi
srotasām asmi jāhnavī
pavanaḥ – the wind; pavatām – of all that purifies; asmi – I am; rāmaḥ – Rāma; śastra-bhṛtām – of the carriers of weapons; aham – I am; jhaṣāṇām – of all fish; makaraḥ – the shark; ca – also; asmi – I am; srotasām – of flowing rivers; asmi – I am; jāhnavī – the river Ganges.
Of purifiers I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons I am Rāma, of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges.
Of all the aquatics the shark is one of the biggest and is certainly the most dangerous to man. Thus the shark represents Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 32
सर्गाणामादिरन्तश्च मध्यं चैवाहमर्जुन ।
अध्यात्मविद्या विद्यानां वादः प्रवदतामहम् ।। 32 ।।
sargāṇām ādir antaś ca
madhyaṁ caivāham arjuna
adhyātma-vidyā vidyānāṁ
vādaḥ pravadatām aham
sargāṇām – of all creations; ādiḥ – the beginning; antaḥ – end; ca – and; madhyam – middle; ca – also; eva – certainly; aham – I am; arjuna – O Arjuna; adhyātma-vidyā – spiritual knowledge; vidyānām – of all education; vādaḥ – the natural conclusion; pravadatām – of arguments; aham – I am.
Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth.
Among the created manifestations, the first is the creation of the total material elements. As explained before, the cosmic manifestation is created and conducted by Mahā-viṣṇu, Garbhodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu, and then again it is annihilated by Lord Śiva. Brahmā is a secondary creator. All these agents of creation, maintenance and annihilation are incarnations of the material qualities of the Supreme Lord. Therefore He is the beginning, the middle and the end of all creation.
For advanced education there are various kinds of books of knowledge, such as the four Vedas, their six supplements, the Vedānta-sūtra, books of logic, books of religiosity and the Purāṇas. So all together there are fourteen divisions of books of education. Of these, the book which presents adhyātma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge – in particular, the Vedānta-sūtra – represents Kṛṣṇa.
Among logicians there are different kinds of argument. Supporting one’s argument with evidence that also supports the opposing side is called jalpa. Merely trying to defeat one’s opponent is called vitaṇḍā. But the actual conclusion is called vāda. This conclusive truth is a representation of Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 33
अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वः सामासिकस्य च ।
अहमेवाक्षयः कालो धाताहं विश्वतोमुखः ।। 33 ।।
akṣarāṇām a-kāro ’smi
dvandvaḥ sāmāsikasya ca
aham evākṣayaḥ kālo
dhātāhaṁ viśvato-mukhaḥ
akṣarāṇām – of letters; a-kāraḥ – the first letter; asmi – I am; dvandvaḥ – the dual; sāmāsikasya – of compounds; ca – and; aham – I am; eva – certainly; akṣayaḥ – eternal; kālaḥ – time; dhātā – the creator; aham – I am; viśvataḥ-mukhaḥ – Brahmā.
Of letters I am the letter A, and among compound words I am the dual compound. I am also inexhaustible time, and of creators I am Brahmā.
A-kāra, the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, is the beginning of the Vedic literature. Without a-kāra, nothing can be sounded; therefore it is the beginning of sound. In Sanskrit there are also many compound words, of which the dual word, like rāma-kṛṣṇa, is called dvandva. In this compound, the words rāma and kṛṣṇa have the same form, and therefore the compound is called dual.
Among all kinds of killers, time is the ultimate because time kills everything. Time is the representative of Kṛṣṇa because in due course of time there will be a great fire and everything will be annihilated.
Among the living entities who are creators, Brahmā, who has four heads, is the chief. Therefore he is a representative of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 34
मृत्युः सर्वहरश्चाहमुद्भवश्च भविष्यताम् ।
कीर्तिः श्रीर्वाक्च नारीणां स्मृतिर्मेधा धृतिः क्षमा ।। 34 ।।
mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham
udbhavaś ca bhaviṣyatām
kīrtiḥ śrīr vāk ca nārīṇāṁ
smṛtir medhā dhṛtiḥ kṣamā
mṛtyuḥ – death; sarva-haraḥ – all-devouring; ca – also; aham – I am; udbhavaḥ – generation; ca – also; bhaviṣyatām – of future manifestations; kīrtiḥ
