Chapter 10, Verse 26
अश्वत्थः सर्ववृक्षाणां देवर्षीणां च नारदः | गन्धर्वाणां चित्ररथः सिद्धानां कपिलो मुनिः ||१०-२६||
aśvatthaḥ sarvavṛkṣāṇāṃ devarṣīṇāṃ ca nāradaḥ . gandharvāṇāṃ citrarathaḥ siddhānāṃ kapilo muniḥ ||10-26||
Meaning
10.26 Among all the trees ( I am) the Peepul; among the divine sages, I am Narada; among Gandharvas, Chitraratha; among the perfected, the sage Kapila.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
The glories now reach into the plant kingdom, the celestial musicians, and the ranks of perfected souls. Among all trees Krishna is the Aśvattha (the sacred Peepul or fig), long venerated in India as a living symbol of the cosmos. Among divine sages He is Narada, the wandering devotee whose very life is the song of God's name. Among the Gandharvas, the heavenly musician Chitraratha; among the Siddhas, the great sage Kapila.
There is a beautiful thread here: Narada, the supreme bhakta, and Kapila, the founder of Sankhya wisdom, are both named. The Divine shines forth equally through the path of loving devotion and the path of contemplative knowledge. Whichever road the seeker travels — heart or insight — its highest exemplar is itself a glory of the one Lord, drawing the traveller home.
💡 Key Takeaway
Whether your path is loving devotion or contemplative wisdom, its highest exemplars all point to the same Divine.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | भूय एव महाबाहो शृणु मे परमं वचः | यत्तेऽहं प्रीयमाणाय वक्ष्यामि हितकाम्यया ||१०-१||
śrībhagavānuvāca . bhūya eva mahābāho śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥ . yatte.ahaṃ prīyamāṇāya vakṣyāmi hitakāmyayā ||10-1||
10.1 The Blessed Lord said Again, O mighty-armed Arjuna, listen to my supreme word which I will declare to thee who who art beloved, for thy welfare.
न मे विदुः सुरगणाः प्रभवं न महर्षयः | अहमादिर्हि देवानां महर्षीणां च सर्वशः ||१०-२||
na me viduḥ suragaṇāḥ prabhavaṃ na maharṣayaḥ . ahamādirhi devānāṃ maharṣīṇāṃ ca sarvaśaḥ ||10-2||
10.2 Neither the hosts of the gods nor the great sages know My origin; for in every way I am the source of all the gods and the great sages.
बुद्धिर्ज्ञानमसम्मोहः क्षमा सत्यं दमः शमः | सुखं दुःखं भवोऽभावो भयं चाभयमेव च ||१०-४||
buddhirjñānamasammohaḥ kṣamā satyaṃ damaḥ śamaḥ . sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ bhavo.abhāvo bhayaṃ cābhayameva ca ||10-4||
10.4 Intellect, wisdom, non-delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness, happiness, pain, existence or birth, non-existence or death, fear and also fearlessness.