Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 31
पवनः पवतामस्मि रामः शस्त्रभृतामहम्।
झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मि जाह्नवी।।
झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मि जाह्नवी।।
pavanaḥ pavatām asmi rāmaḥ śastra-bhṛtām aham
jhaṣāṇāṁ makaraś cāsmi srotasām asmi jāhnavī
also searched as "pavanah pavatam asmi ramah shastra-bhritam aham"
Translation
Of moving things, I am the wind; of those who bear weapons, I am Rama; of fishers, I am Makara; and of rivers, I am the Ganga.
Vāṇi's rendering
Of purifiers I am the wind; of warriors, Rama; of sea creatures, the makara; of rivers, the Ganga.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पवनःpavanaḥ | the wind |
| पवताम्pavatām | of purifiers, of those that cleanse |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| रामःrāmaḥ | Rama |
| शस्त्रभृताम्śastra-bhṛtām | of those who bear weapons |
| अहम्aham | I |
| झषाणाम्jhaṣāṇāṁ | of fishes, of water creatures |
| मकरःmakaraḥ | the makara, the great sea creature (makaraś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| अस्मिasmi | I am (joined as cāsmi) |
| स्रोतसाम्srotasām | of flowing streams, of rivers |
| अस्मिasmi | I am |
| जाह्नवीjāhnavī | the Ganga, daughter of Jahnu |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 31 mean?
Krishna names four excellences — wind among purifiers, Rama among weapon-bearers, the makara among sea creatures, the Ganga among rivers. He is not ranking creation. He is pointing to the moment anything becomes fully itself, and saying that fullness is where he is found. Excellence is not a rival to the sacred; it is its address.
What is the meaning of pavanah pavatam asmi ramah shastra-bhritam aham?
Of purifiers, the wind; of warriors, Rama. The wind cleanses by nothing but moving — no intention, no residue. Rama bears arms without appetite for them. Krishna joins these two because both act without holding on. To be a purifier is not to scrub the world; it is to pass through it without leaving your grip on things.
Why does Krishna call himself the makara and the Ganga?
The makara moves in depths no one watches; the Ganga flows in the open, touched by everyone. Krishna claims both — the hidden greatness and the poured-out one. Wherever a thing is most completely its kind, whether anyone sees it or not, he is there. Your unwitnessed work is not less divine for being unwitnessed.
How do I apply this verse in ordinary life?
Stop looking for a holier task. This verse says the sacred shows up in the wind being wind and the river being river — not in anything becoming something else. So take the small duty in front of you and do it whole. Krishna is met in the thoroughness, not in the change of role.
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Commentary
Four things chosen from four worlds — air, war, deep water, the flowing river — and one thread through them. Each is its own kind at its purest. The wind does not clean by effort; it cleans by moving. Rama carries weapons and never carries them for himself. Krishna is not naming favourites here; he is naming the point at which a thing becomes entirely what it is, and saying: there, that is me. Arjuna wanted to know where to look. The answer is not somewhere else. Look at the work already in your hands, and do it the way wind blows — completely, keeping none of it back.