Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 21
आदित्यानामहं विष्णुर्ज्योतिषां रविरंशुमान्।
मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मि नक्षत्राणामहं शशी।।
मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मि नक्षत्राणामहं शशी।।
ādityānām ahaṁ viṣṇur jyotiṣāṁ ravir anśumān
marīcir marutām asmi nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī
also searched as "adityanam aham vishnur jyotisham ravir anshuman"
Translation
Of the Adityas, I am Vishnu; of luminous bodies, I am the radiant sun. Of the Maruts, I am Marici, and among the constellations, I am the moon.
Vāṇi's rendering
Among the Adityas I am Vishnu; among lights, the blazing sun; among storm-gods, Marichi; among stars, the moon.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आदित्यानाम्ādityānām | among the Ādityas, the twelve solar deities |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I |
| विष्णुःviṣṇuḥ | am Viṣṇu (written viṣṇur before the next word) |
| ज्योतिषाम्jyotiṣāṁ | among things that give light |
| रविःraviḥ | the sun (written ravir before the next word) |
| अंशुमान्anśumān | rayed, blazing |
| मरीचिःmarīciḥ | Marīci, chief of the wind-gods (written marīcir before the next word) |
| मरुताम्marutām | among the Maruts, the storm-gods |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| नक्षत्राणाम्nakṣatrāṇām | among the stars and constellations |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I |
| शशीśaśī | the moon, the hare-marked one |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 21 mean?
Krishna names himself as the highest in four orders of light: Viṣṇu among the Ādityas, the sun among luminaries, Marīci among the storm-gods, the moon among stars. He is not listing possessions. He is giving Arjuna a place to rest his eyes, since the whole cannot be held at once.
What is the meaning of 'adityanam aham vishnur jyotisham ravir anshuman'?
Among the twelve Ādityas I am Viṣṇu; among all that shines, the sun with its rays. The line works by peaks. Wherever a class of things has a brightest member, that brightness is where Krishna asks you to recognise him first, before you attempt to recognise him everywhere.
Why does Krishna call himself Vishnu if he is Vishnu already?
Here Viṣṇu means the foremost of the twelve Ādityas, one deity among a set. Krishna is speaking from the ground that holds all such sets. He takes the highest name in each group and says: that eminence is mine. The naming is not a confusion of identity but a ladder for attention.
How do I actually use a verse that is just a list of names?
Stop treating it as a list and treat it as instruction in where to look. Sun, moon, star, the flare at the storm's edge — each is something you behold rather than handle. Krishna is training the eye upward. Practise it literally, tonight, on whatever light you can find.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Twelve Ādityas, and Krishna names one. Countless lights, and he names the sun. He is not claiming the crowd; he is claiming the brightest in each crowd. This is how the mind is taught to see him — not by abstraction but by attention, sent upward to whatever in a class shines most. Arjuna cannot hold the whole. He can hold the moon. Krishna gives him a moon. Notice that every item here is something you look at rather than something you use: sun, moon, the light at the head of the storm. The teaching is in the looking. What made you look up last, and stop?