Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 27
उच्चैःश्रवसमश्वानां विद्धि माममृतोद्भवम्।
ऐरावतं गजेन्द्राणां नराणां च नराधिपम्।।
ऐरावतं गजेन्द्राणां नराणां च नराधिपम्।।
uccaiḥśravasam aśvānāṁ viddhi mām amṛtodbhavam
airāvataṁ gajendrāṇāṁ narāṇāṁ ca narādhipam
also searched as "Uchchaihshravasam ashvanam viddhi mam amritodbhavam"
Translation
Of horses, know Me to be Uccaihsravas, the nectar-born. Of lordly elephants, I am Airavata, and of men, I am the monarch.
Vāṇi's rendering
Of horses, know me as Uchchaihshravas, born of the nectar; of elephants, Airavata; of men, the king.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| उच्चैःश्रवसम्uccaiḥśravasam | Uccaiḥśravas, the white horse that rose when the ocean was churned |
| अश्वानाम्aśvānām | among horses |
| विद्धिviddhi | know |
| माम्mām | me |
| अमृतोद्भवम्amṛta-udbhavam | born of the nectar (amṛta + udbhavam, joined by sandhi) |
| ऐरावतम्airāvatam | Airāvata, the great elephant of Indra |
| गजेन्द्राणाम्gajendrāṇām | among lordly elephants |
| नराणाम्narāṇām | among men |
| चca | and |
| नराधिपम्narādhipam | the king, ruler of men (nara + adhipam, joined by sandhi) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 27 mean?
Krishna keeps naming peaks. Among horses, Uccaiḥśravas; among elephants, Airāvata; among men, the king. He is not claiming each species but the crest of it — the point where a kind of thing becomes unmistakable. Wherever excellence stops you in your tracks, that halt is Krishna making himself visible in a form your eye can hold.
What does 'Uchchaihshravasam ashvanam viddhi mam amritodbhavam' mean?
Know me, among horses, as Uccaiḥśravas — the one born of amṛta. When the gods and asuras churned the ocean for the nectar of deathlessness, this white horse rose with it. Krishna is pointing at something that came out of the deepest effort ever made, and saying: that too was me surfacing.
Who is Uchchaihshravas and why does Krishna name him?
Uccaiḥśravas is the seven-headed white horse that emerged from the churned ocean, faultless and beyond any other horse. Krishna names him because Arjuna knows horses — he rides behind them into war. Krishna chooses the images that live in Arjuna's own eye. He will choose the ones that live in yours.
Why does Krishna say he is the king among men?
Not to flatter kings. The king in this verse stands for the place where authority gathers, where many lives turn on one steadiness. Krishna is saying that whatever holds the centre — in a household, a battlefield, a life — draws its power from him. Take the seat lightly. You are borrowing it.
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Commentary
Every name here came out of the churning — Uchchaihshravas and Airavata rose from the same ocean that gave the nectar. Krishna does not say he is horses. He says he is the horse at the top of horses, the elephant no other elephant matches, the man other men obey. Arjuna is being taught where to look: not everywhere at once, which the mind cannot hold, but at the summit of whatever stands in front of him. When something in your day stops you — the best of its kind, unmistakable — that arrest is not taste. It is recognition. Follow it back.