Tenth discourse
DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS
*The Lord is the source of all manifestations
The Blessed Lord said:
1.
Again, O mighty-armed, listen to My Supreme word, which I, from a desire for thy well-being, shall speak to thee who art intensely delighted with My speech, as though you are drinking the immortal nectar.
2.
Neither the hosts of the Gods nor the Great Rishis know my origin; for I am the source of all the Gods and the Great Rishis.
Moreover,
3.
He who knows Me as unborn and beginningless, as the great Lord of the worlds, he among mortals is undeluded, he is liberated from all sins.
4-5.
Intelligence, wisdom, non-illusion, patience, truth, self-restraint, calmness, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear, and security; innocence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, beneficence, fame, shame; (these) different kinds of dispositions of beings arise from Me alone.
Moreover,
6.
The seven Great Rishis as well as the four ancient Manus, with their being in Me, were born of mind; and theirs are these creatures in the world.
* Knowledge of the Lord's Glory conduces to Yoga.
7.
He who knows in truth this glory and power of Mine is endowed with unshaken Yoga; there is no doubt of it.
8.
I am the source of all; from Me everything evolves; thus thinking the wise worship Me, endowed with contemplation.
Moreover,
9.
With their thought on Me, with their life absorbed in Me, instructing each other, and ever speaking of Me, they are content and delighted.
* The Lord endows His devotees with wisdom
10.
To these, ever devout, worshipping Me with love, I give that devotion of knowledge by which they come to Me.
11.
Out of mere compassion for them, I, abiding in their self, destroy the darkness born of ignorance, by the luminous lamp of wisdom.
* Arjuna's question about the Lord's manifestations
Arjuna said:
12-13.
The Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Light, the Supreme Purifier art Thou. All the Rishis declare Thee as Eternal, Divine Purusha, the Primal God, Unborn, Omnipresent; so said the divine sage Narada, as also Asita, Devala and Vyasa; and Thou Thyself also sayest (so) to me.
14.
I believe to be true all this which Thou sayest to me; for neither the Gods nor the Danavas, O Lord, know Thy manifestation.
15.
Thou Thyself knowest Thyself as the Self, O Purusha Supreme, O Source of beings, O Lord of beings, O God of Gods, O Ruler of the world.
16.
Thou shouldstt indeed tell, without reserve, of Thy divine Glories, by which Glories Thou remainest pervading all these worlds.
17.
How shall I, ever meditating, know Thee, O Yogin; in what several things, O Lord, art Thou to be thought of by Me?
18.
Tell me again in detail, O Janardana, of Thy power and Glory, for there is no satiety for me in hearing the immortal.
* The Lord's enumeration of His manifestations
The Blessed Lord said:
19.
Now will I tell thee of My heavenly Glories, in their prominence, O best of the Kurus; there is no limit to My extent.
20.
I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the heart of all beings; I am the beginning and the middle, as also the end, of all beings.
21.
Of the Adityas I am Vishnu; of the radiances, the resplendent Sun; I am Marichi of the Maruts; of the asterisms, the Moon.
22.
Of the Vedas I am the Sama-Veda, I am Vasava of the Gods, and of the senses I am the mind, I am the intelligence in living beings.
23.
And of the Rudras I am Sankara, of the Yakshas and Rakshasas the Lord of wealth-(Kubera), and of the Vasus I am Agni, of the mountains I am the Meru.
24.
And of the household priests of kings, O son of Pritha, know Me the chief one, Brihaspati; of generals I am Skanda, of lakes I am the Ocean.
25.
Of the Great Rishis I am Bhrigu; of words I am the one syllable ' Om ;' of offerings I am the offering of Japa (silent repetition), of unmoving things the Himalaya.
26.
Of all trees (I am) the Asvattha, and Narada of divine Rishis, Chitraratha of Gandharvas, the Sage Kapila of the Saints (Siddhas).
27.
Know Me among horses as Uchchaissravas, born of Amrita, of lordly elephants the Airavata, and of men the king.
28.
Of weapons I am the thunderbolt, of cows I am the Kamadhuk, I am the progenitor Kandarpa, of serpents I am Vasuki.
29.
And Ananta of snakes I am, I am Varuna of water-beings, and Aryaman of Pitris I am, I am Yama of controllers.
30.
And Prahlada am I of Diti's progeny, of reckoners I am Time, and of beasts I am the lord of beasts-(lion or tiger), and Vainateya-(Vinata's son,Garutmat) of birds.
31.
Of purifiers I am the wind, Rama of warriors am I, of fishes I am the shark, of streams I am the Ganges. Of those who bear weapons I am Rama, Dasaratha's son.
32.
Of creations I am the beginning and the middle and also the end; of all knowledges I am the knowledge of the Self, and Vada of disputants.
33.
Of letters the letter 'A' am I, and dvandva of all compounds; I am, verily, the inexhaustible Time; I am the All-faced Dispenser.
34.
And I am all-seizing Death, and the prosperity of those who are to be prosperous; of the feminine (I am) Fame, Fortune and Speech, Memory, Intelligence, Constancy, Endurance.
35.
Of Samans also I am the Brihat-Saman, of metres Gayatri am I, of months I am Margasirsha, of seasons the flowery season-(Vasanta, the spring).
36.
I am the gambling of the fraudulent, I am the splendour of the splendid, I am victory, I am effort, I am the goodness of the good.
37.
Of the Vrishnis I am Vasudeva, of the Pandavas I am Dhananjaya, and of the saints I am Vyasa, of the sages I am Usanas the sage.
38.
Of punishers I am the sceptre of those who seek to conquer I am the polity, and of things secret I am also silence, the knowledge of knowers am I.
39.
Moreover, whatsoever is the seed of all beings, that also am I, O Arjuna. There is no being whether moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me.
40.
There is no end of My heavenly Glories, O harasser of the foes; but the details of My Glory have been declared only by way of instance.
*Divine Glory described in brief
41.
Whatever being is glorious, prosperous, or strong, that know to be a manifestation of a part of My Splendour.
42.
But, of what avail to thee is this vast thing being known, O Arjuna? I stand sustaining this whole world by one part (of Myself).
END OF TENTH DISCOURSE
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