Chapter 10, Verse 30
प्रह्लादश्चास्मि दैत्यानां कालः कलयतामहम् | मृगाणां च मृगेन्द्रोऽहं वैनतेयश्च पक्षिणाम् ||१०-३०||
prahlādaścāsmi daityānāṃ kālaḥ kalayatāmaham . mṛgāṇāṃ ca mṛgendro.ahaṃ vainateyaśca pakṣiṇām ||10-30||
Meaning
10.30 And, I am Prahlada among the demons, among the reckoners I am time; among beasts I am the lion, and Vainateya (Garuda) among birds.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
A remarkable choice opens this verse: among the demons (Daityas), Krishna is Prahlada — the great devotee born into a demonic dynasty, whose unwavering love for God shone even amid hostility. The lesson is luminous: devotion is the true glory, and it can blossom in the most unlikely soil. No lineage, no circumstance can bar the heart that turns sincerely toward the Divine.
Krishna then names Himself kāla, Time, among all reckoners — the relentless measure that governs every span of existence. And among beasts the lion, among birds Garuda. Across this verse the same principle holds: whether in the unexpected saint, the inexorable force of time, or the noblest of creatures, the one Divine presence reveals itself to the contemplating heart.
💡 Key Takeaway
Devotion is the highest glory and can flower anywhere — no circumstance can bar a heart that turns to the 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.