Chapter 10, Verse 38
दण्डो दमयतामस्मि नीतिरस्मि जिगीषताम् | मौनं चैवास्मि गुह्यानां ज्ञानं ज्ञानवतामहम् ||१०-३८||
daṇḍo damayatāmasmi nītirasmi jigīṣatām . maunaṃ caivāsmi guhyānāṃ jñānaṃ jñānavatāmaham ||10-38||
Meaning
10.38 Of those who punish, I am the sceptre; among those who seek victory, I am statesmanship; and also among secrets, I am silence; knowledge among knowers I am.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Two of these glories speak directly to the inner life. 'Among secrets I am silence (maunam)' — for the deepest truths cannot be shouted; they ripen in stillness. The sacred is guarded and nurtured by quietude, and the soul that learns to be silent within hears what noise can never reveal. Silence is not emptiness but the fullest receptivity to the Divine.
'Among the wise I am knowledge (jñānam) itself' — the very essence of all wisdom is His presence. Among those who govern, He is the just power of restraint; among those who would conquer, He is righteous policy rather than brute force. Together these glories paint the portrait of true mastery: power exercised with justice, ambition guided by ethics, and a heart that has learned the deep, fertile silence in which wisdom is born.
💡 Key Takeaway
The deepest truths ripen in silence — cultivate inner stillness to hear what noise can never reveal.
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.
यो मामजमनादिं च वेत्ति लोकमहेश्वरम् | असम्मूढः स मर्त्येषु सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ||१०-३||
yo māmajamanādiṃ ca vetti lokamaheśvaram . asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate ||10-3||
10.3 He who knows Me as unborn and beginningless, as the great Lord of the worlds, he, among mortals, is undeluded and he is liberated from all sins.