Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 34
मृत्युः सर्वहरश्चाहमुद्भवश्च भविष्यताम्।
कीर्तिः श्रीर्वाक्च नारीणां स्मृतिर्मेधा धृतिः क्षमा।।
कीर्तिः श्रीर्वाक्च नारीणां स्मृतिर्मेधा धृतिः क्षमा।।
mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham udbhavaś ca bhaviṣyatām
kīrtiḥ śrīr vāk ca nārīṇāṁ smṛtir medhā dhṛtiḥ kṣamā
also searched as "mrityuh sarva-harash chaham udbhavash cha bhavishyatam"
Translation
I am also death, which snatches away all. I am the origin of all that will be born. Among women, I am fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, endurance, and forgiveness.
Vāṇi's rendering
I am all-seizing death, the source of what comes; in women: fame, fortune, speech, memory, insight, firmness, patience.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मृत्युःmṛtyuḥ | death |
| सर्वहरःsarva-haraḥ | the seizer of all, that which carries everything off (appears as sarva-haraś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| अहम्aham | I am |
| उद्भवःudbhavaḥ | the arising, the coming-forth (appears as udbhavaś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| भविष्यताम्bhaviṣyatām | of all that is yet to be |
| कीर्तिःkīrtiḥ | fame, the good name that spreads |
| श्रीःśrīḥ | fortune, abundance (appears as śrīr before vāk) |
| वाक्vāk | speech |
| चca | and |
| नारीणाम्nārīṇām | among women; of the feminine |
| स्मृतिःsmṛtiḥ | memory (appears as smṛtir before medhā) |
| मेधाmedhā | insight, the mind that grasps and holds |
| धृतिःdhṛtiḥ | firmness, the power to hold steady |
| क्षमाkṣamā | patience, the strength that forbears |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 34 mean?
Krishna names himself as death that seizes everything, and in the same line as the origin of all that is still to come. Then he names seven qualities — kīrti, śrī, vāk, smṛti, medhā, dhṛti, kṣamā. The taking and the giving are not two powers. They are one, wearing different faces.
What does mrityuh sarva-harash chaham udbhavash cha bhavishyatam teach about death?
That death is not an accident that interrupts life from outside. Krishna claims it as his own face, and in the very next words claims the arising of everything unborn. Nothing is being lost to a stranger. What comes for you at the end is the same one who brought you here.
Why does Krishna say these qualities belong to women?
The seven he names — fame, fortune, speech, memory, insight, firmness, patience — are feminine in Sanskrit, and Krishna claims each as himself. He is not assigning virtues to a gender and withholding them from another. He is saying that wherever these appear in a life, that is his own presence at work.
How do I use this verse when I am afraid of dying?
Do not argue with the fear. Notice instead that dhṛti and kṣamā — firmness and patience — are on the same list as death, spoken by the same voice. The steadiness you will need is not something you must find alone. It is already being offered from the same source.
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Commentary
Death speaks first here, and it does not speak alone. In the same breath Krishna names himself the source of everything still to come — the hand that takes and the hand that gives, one hand. Then the list turns unexpectedly tender: fame, fortune, speech, memory, insight, firmness, patience. These are not decorations. They are what holds a life together while death does its work. Arjuna is being shown that the power ending the war and the power steadying you through it carry one name. What patience you find tomorrow will not be manufactured. It will be met.