Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 24
पुरोधसां च मुख्यं मां विद्धि पार्थ बृहस्पतिम्।
सेनानीनामहं स्कन्दः सरसामस्मि सागरः।।
सेनानीनामहं स्कन्दः सरसामस्मि सागरः।।
purodhasāṁ ca mukhyaṁ māṁ viddhi pārtha bṛhaspatim
senānīnām ahaṁ skandaḥ sarasām asmi sāgaraḥ
also searched as "purodhasam cha mukhyam mam viddhi partha brihaspatim"
Translation
Among family priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief Brhaspati; of generals, I am Skanda; of reservoirs of water, I am the ocean.
Vāṇi's rendering
Among priests, know me as Brihaspati, the chief; among commanders, Skanda; among waters, the ocean.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पुरोधसाम्purodhasāṁ | of household priests, of those who counsel a king |
| चca | and |
| मुख्यम्mukhyaṁ | the foremost, the chief |
| माम्māṁ | me |
| विद्धिviddhi | know |
| पार्थpārtha | Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| बृहस्पतिम्bṛhaspatim | Bṛhaspati, priest and counsellor of the gods |
| सेनानीनाम्senānīnām | of army commanders, of generals |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I |
| स्कन्दःskandaḥ | Skanda, the war-god who leads the divine armies |
| सरसाम्sarasām | of bodies of water, of lakes and reservoirs |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| सागरःsāgaraḥ | the ocean |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 24 mean?
Krishna names the first of three orders — Bṛhaspati among priests, Skanda among commanders, the ocean among waters — and says each is him. He is not claiming three figures. He is saying that whatever stands highest in any class stands there because his presence is densest in it. Excellence is a window, not a wall.
What does purodhasam cha mukhyam mam viddhi partha brihaspatim mean?
Know me as Bṛhaspati, the chief among priests. Bṛhaspati is the counsellor of the gods, the one whose word steadies a king before he acts. Arjuna, about to act, is being shown where good counsel comes from. When someone's advice sets you right, something larger than that person has spoken.
Why does Krishna call himself Skanda, a god of war?
Because Arjuna is a warrior and the field is a battlefield. Krishna does not soften his examples to suit a squeamish ear. Skanda leads the armies of the gods; command, courage and the will to move are his. Krishna claims that force too. Nothing in your nature is left outside him.
Why is the ocean named among the waters?
Every river runs somewhere, and every river arrives here. The ocean does not chase, does not narrow, does not need to prove its depth. It receives. Krishna names it to show what fullness looks like — vast, still, and never refusing what comes. Consider which of your waters is still running, and where.
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Commentary
Three names, three worlds. Bṛhaspati counsels, Skanda commands, and the ocean simply holds. Krishna does not pick the strange or the hidden here; he points to the summit of each kind — the one everyone already recognizes as first. Arjuna is being taught to look straight at greatness and see through it. When you admire someone, their command, their counsel, their depth, the admiration is already reaching past the person. The ocean is not great because it moves; it is great because every river ends there. Whatever in your life you call best, follow that calling further. It was never meant to stop at the name.