Chapter 10: The Opulence of the Absolute
Bg 10.37
TEXT 37
vrsninam vasudevo 'smi
pandavanam dhananjayah
muninam apy aham vyasah
kavinam usana kavih
SYNONYMS
våñëénäm—of the descendants of Våñëi; väsudevaù—Kåñëa in Dväraka; asmi—I am; päëòavänäm—of the Päëòavas; dhanaïjayaù—Arjuna; munénäm—of the sages; api—also; aham—I am; vyäsaù—Vyäsa, the compiler of all Vedic literature; kavénäm—of all great thinkers; uçanä—Uçanä; kaviù—the thinker.
TRANSLATION
Of the descendants of Våñëi I am Väsudeva, and of the Päëòavas I am Arjuna. Of the sages I am Vyäsa, and among great thinkers I am Uçanä.
PURPORT
Kåñëa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Väsudeva is the immediate expansion of Kåñëa. Both Lord Kåñëa and Baladeva appear as the sons of Vasudeva. Amongst the sons of Päëòu, Arjuna is famous and valiant. Indeed, he is the best of men and therefore represents Kåñëa. Among the munis, or learned men conversant in Vedic knowledge, Vyäsa is the greatest because he explained Vedic knowledge in many different ways for the understanding of the common mass of people in this age of Kali. And Vyäsa is also known as an incarnation of Kåñëa; therefore Vyäsa also represents Kåñëa. Kavis are those who are capable of thinking thoroughly on any subject matter. Among the kavis, Uçanä was the spiritual master of the demons; he was extremely intelligent, far-seeing, political and spiritual in every way. Thus Uçanä is another representative of the opulence of Kåñëa.