Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 22
वेदानां सामवेदोऽस्मि देवानामस्मि वासवः।
इन्द्रियाणां मनश्चास्मि भूतानामस्मि चेतना।।
इन्द्रियाणां मनश्चास्मि भूतानामस्मि चेतना।।
vedānāṁ sāma-vedo ’smi devānām asmi vāsavaḥ
indriyāṇāṁ manaś cāsmi bhūtānām asmi cetanā
also searched as "Vedanam samavedo asmi devanam asmi vasavah"
Translation
Of the Vedas, I am the Samaveda; of gods, I am Indra; of sense-organs, I am the mind; and of living beings, I am consciousness.
Vāṇi's rendering
Of the Vedas I am the Sama; of gods, Indra; of the senses, the mind; in living beings, awareness.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वेदानाम्vedānāṁ | among the Vedas |
| सामवेदःsāma-vedaḥ | the Sāma Veda, the Veda that is sung (sandhi: sāma-vedo before ’smi) |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| देवानाम्devānām | among the gods |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| वासवःvāsavaḥ | Vāsava, Indra, chief of the shining ones |
| इन्द्रियाणाम्indriyāṇāṁ | among the senses |
| मनःmanaḥ | the mind (sandhi: manaś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| अस्मिasmi | I am (sandhi: cāsmi = ca + asmi) |
| भूतानाम्bhūtānām | among living beings |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| चेतनाcetanā | awareness, the fact of being awake in a body |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 22 mean?
Krishna names himself the best in four descending ranks: the sung Veda among scriptures, Indra among gods, mind among the senses, and cetanā — awareness — in every living being. The list travels from the outer world inward, ending not at a thing you can point to but at the one who is aware.
Vedanam samavedo asmi devanam asmi vasavah - what is the meaning of this line?
Of the Vedas, Krishna is the Sāma; of the gods, Indra. The Sāma Veda is the one that is chanted as melody rather than spoken, and Indra is the king among the shining ones. Krishna claims the peak of each order — the most alive form within every class of things.
Why does Krishna say he is the mind among the senses?
Eyes see, ears hear, but nothing is perceived until the mind gathers it. It stands behind the ten as their meeting place. Krishna claims that inner position deliberately — and then goes further still, to cetanā, the awareness that watches even the mind at work.
What is cetana in this verse?
Cetanā is the bare fact of being awake in a living body. Not thought, not memory, not personality — those change hourly. It is what remains present through all of them. Krishna says that in you it is not yours alone; it is him. Notice it now, before naming it.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Follow the direction of the list. Veda among books, Indra among gods, mind behind the senses — and then, in every living thing, awareness itself. Krishna moves from the outermost to the innermost, and does not stop at the mind. The mind is still an instrument; something knows it working. The Sāma is the Veda that is sung rather than recited, and this whole verse works that way — it descends by song into you. Arjuna has been looking for Krishna in what is grand. Krishna names himself as the plain fact that you are awake to this line. Not the reading. The being awake.