Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 29
अनन्तश्चास्मि नागानां वरुणो यादसामहम्।
पितृ़णामर्यमा चास्मि यमः संयमतामहम्।।
पितृ़णामर्यमा चास्मि यमः संयमतामहम्।।
anantaś cāsmi nāgānāṁ varuṇo yādasām aham
pitṝṇām aryamā cāsmi yamaḥ sanyamatām aham
also searched as "anantash chasmi naganam varuno yadasam aham"
Translation
Of snakes, I am Ananta; of aquatic beings, I am Varuna; of manes, I am Aryama; of subduers, I am Yama.
Vāṇi's rendering
Of the naga serpents I am Ananta; of sea-beings, Varuna; of ancestors, Aryama; of those who restrain, Yama.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अनन्तःanantaḥ | Ananta, the endless serpent (appears as anantaś before the next word) |
| चca | and |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| नागानाम्nāgānām | of the nāga serpents |
| वरुणःvaruṇaḥ | Varuṇa, lord of waters (appears as varuṇo before the next word) |
| यादसाम्yādasām | of the beings of the sea |
| अहम्aham | I |
| पितॄणाम्pitṝṇām | of the ancestors, the departed fathers |
| अर्यमाaryamā | Aryamā, first among the ancestors |
| चca | and |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| यमःyamaḥ | Yama, who holds the limit of life |
| संयमताम्sanyamatām | of those who restrain, who keep others in check |
| अहम्aham | I |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 29 mean?
Krishna names himself in four places at once: Ananta among serpents, Varuṇa among the beings of the sea, Aryamā among the ancestors, Yama among those who restrain. The endless and the limit-setter are the same speaker. Wherever you look — depth, lineage, or the end of life — the one you find looking back is not other than Krishna.
anantash chasmi naganam varuno yadasam aham - what is this verse about?
It is one line of Krishna's self-naming in the tenth chapter. He picks the foremost in each order of being: the endless serpent, the lord of waters, the eldest of the departed, the restrainer of all. Not four gods listed. One presence, seen from four directions, wearing whichever crown that realm knows.
Why does Krishna say he is Yama, the god of death?
Because restraint is not the enemy of life. Yama is called saṃyamatām — of those who hold in check. Every limit you strike against, including the last one, is administered by the same hand that gives you breath. Krishna refuses to be only the pleasant half. He takes the ending too, so that you need not fear it as something foreign.
Who is Ananta and why is he named first here?
Ananta is the serpent whose coils have no end, on whom the worlds are said to rest. His name simply means endless. Naming him first sets the measure for the whole verse: what follows — sea, ancestors, death — are all bounded things, and each is claimed by the boundless.
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Commentary
Four names, and the last one is death. Ananta means endless — the serpent with no final coil, on whom the world rests. Then waters, then the long line of the dead, and then Yama, who restrains, who sets the limit on every living thing. Krishna claims the endless and the ending in one breath. Arjuna is about to send many men to Yama, and he is being told whose face that is. What stops you is not the opposite of what holds you. The wall at the end of your strength has the same name as the ground beneath it.