Chapter 10, Verse 34
मृत्युः सर्वहरश्चाहमुद्भवश्च भविष्यताम् | कीर्तिः श्रीर्वाक्च नारीणां स्मृतिर्मेधा धृतिः क्षमा ||१०-३४||
mṛtyuḥ sarvaharaścāhamudbhavaśca bhaviṣyatām . kīrtiḥ śrīrvākca nārīṇāṃ smṛtirmedhā dhṛtiḥ kṣamā ||10-34||
Meaning
10.34 And I am the all-devouring Death, and the prosperity of those who are to be prosperous; among the feminine alities (I am) fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, firmness and forgiveness.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna holds together the two faces of existence: He is mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraḥ, all-devouring Death that takes everything away, and equally He is udbhava, the rising and prosperity of all that is yet to come. Destruction and birth are not opposing forces but the single breathing of the Divine. To know this is to lose the terror of death and the grasping for gain — for both are held in one hand.
He then names seven luminous qualities, traditionally feminine and personified as goddesses: fame (kīrti), prosperity (śrī), speech (vāk), memory (smṛti), intelligence (medhā), steadfastness (dhṛti), and forgiveness (kṣamā). These are not mere abstractions but living powers to be cultivated. Wherever such graces shine in a human life, there shines a glory of the Lord — and the seeker is invited to nurture them as sacred.
💡 Key Takeaway
Death and renewal are one breath of the Divine, and graces like memory, firmness, and forgiveness are sacred powers to cultivate.
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.