Chapter 10, Verse 29
अनन्तश्चास्मि नागानां वरुणो यादसामहम् | पितॄणामर्यमा चास्मि यमः संयमतामहम् ||१०-२९||
anantaścāsmi nāgānāṃ varuṇo yādasāmaham . pitṝṇāmaryamā cāsmi yamaḥ saṃyamatāmaham ||10-29||
Meaning
10.29 I am Ananta among the Nagas; I am Varuna among water-deities; Aryaman among the Manes I am; I am Yama among the governors.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Among the divine serpents Krishna is Ananta (Shesha), whose very name means 'the endless' — the cosmic serpent upon whom the worlds are said to rest. Among the water-deities He is Varuna; among the ancestors, Aryaman; and among those who govern and maintain order, Yama, lord of righteous law and of death.
The naming of Yama is significant. He who administers cosmic justice — rewarding and restraining according to deeds — is a glory of the Lord. This is a quiet reminder that the moral order of the universe is not blind chance but divine governance. Even death and judgement, which the human heart fears, are held within the same loving order. To see Yama as a manifestation of the Divine is to trust that the law governing all consequences is ultimately just and never apart from God.
💡 Key Takeaway
Even cosmic justice and death are held within a Divine order that is ultimately trustworthy and just.
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.