His glory is named among the serpents, the waters, the ancestors, and the lord of death.
Kṛṣṇa names four more of his glories, one from each order of beings: Ananta among the nāgas, Varuṇa among the water-dwellers, Aryaman among the ancestors, Yama among those who restrain. Even the power that judges and gives each deed its fruit is not outside him; it stands among his glories.
Among the nagas, I am Ananta. Among the gods of the waters, I am Varuna. Among the ancestors, I am Aryama. Among those who keep order, I am Yama, lord of death.
It falls within Kṛṣṇa's long litany of vibhūtis, the glories he is naming class by class; here the naming moves through four more orders of beings: the serpents, the water-creatures, the ancestors, and those who keep order.
Where they agreethe convergence
Across schools and centuries the commentators come to the same ground. These are the points they share, and the voices that hold each one.
In each order of beings he names its head; the foremost of the kind stands for his presence in the whole class.
Across Advaita, Śuddhādvaita, Bhakti, and the modern voicesŚaṅkara · Madhusūdana · Dhanapati · Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara · Baladeva · Sivananda · Tilak · VallabhaIn Śaṅkara, Madhusūdana, and 7 others’ words
This verse continues Krishna's list of his vibhutis, his glories or chief manifestations, by naming four supreme figures, one from each of four classes of beings. He says he is Ananta among the nagas, Varuna among the water-creatures, Aryaman among the ancestors, and Yama among those who restrain. The unbroken pattern is that within each category Krishna identifies himself with the king, head, or foremost one: the best representative of the class stands for his presence in it. The commentators read each line this way, taking the genitive case ("of the nagas," "of the water-dwellers") to mean "the chief among them."
Among the nāgas, the still serpents, he is Ananta, called Śeṣa, the thousand-hooded one; among the beings of the waters he is Varuṇa, their lord.
Across Advaita, Śuddhādvaita, Bhakti, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and the modern voicesŚaṅkara · Madhusūdana · Dhanapati · Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara · Baladeva · Sivananda · Ramsukhdas · Vallabha · Rāmānuja · Nīlakaṇṭha · ViśvanāthaIn Śaṅkara, Madhusūdana, and 10 others’ words
The first glory is Ananta among the nagas. Nagas are a class of serpents, and the commentators specify that Ananta is their king, also named Shesha. Several add that this kind of serpent is the non-poisonous or still kind, distinct from ordinary venomous snakes. Ananta-Shesha is described as the thousand-hooded or many-headed cosmic serpent. The second glory is Varuna among the water-creatures (yadas): Varuna is the king or presiding deity of the waters and of all sea-creatures.
Among the ancestors he is Aryaman, their chief; and among those who keep order by giving each deed its fruit, he is Yama.
Across Advaita, Śuddhādvaita, Bhakti, and the modern voicesŚaṅkara · Madhusūdana · Dhanapati · Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara · Baladeva · Sivananda · Vallabha · ViśvanāthaIn Śaṅkara, Madhusūdana, and 7 others’ words
The third glory is Aryaman among the pitrs, the ancestors or departed fathers. The commentators agree that Aryaman is the king or chief of the ancestors, the foremost of the ancestral deities. The fourth glory is Yama among the restrainers (samyamatam). Several commentators explain who these restrainers are: they are the ones who keep order by punishing, by meting out justice, dispensing the fruit of right and wrong action. Yama is the lord of this function. One source calls him the wielder of the rod of justice, and another the witness who keeps account of every being's good and bad deeds.
This is the shared ground; it can be carried as it is. Below is where they differ.
Where they differthe divergence
Viśiṣṭādvaita, in their fuller words
On two points this reading parts from the common gloss. First, on the nagas: where some take the genitive ("of the nagas") as a genitive of selection, picking out one best member, this reading says the genitive here is not one of selection; the nagas as a class are characterized as many-headed. Second, the figure named among the restrainers is not Yama by that name but Vaivasvata, the son of Vivasvat. The point of distinguishing the nagas as many-headed (against the more usual idea that the difference between naga and ordinary serpent is poisonous versus non-poisonous) is also noted and debated by a modern commentator who finds neither distinction fully convincing.
Śuddhādvaita, in their fuller words
This reading draws out a devotional and ritual meaning from the line about Aryaman, chief of the ancestors. Because Aryaman is of Bhagavan's form, the whole line of ancestors propitiated in the shraddha rite (the offering of food to the departed) is to be honored and contemplated as devoted to Bhagavan. One source adds, through the word "ca" ("and") in the verse, that Krishna is present in the form of the ancestors for everyone, not only the named chief; the ancestral line is itself to be meditated on as a manifestation of God.
A modern reading, in their fuller words
This reading dwells on why Shesha-naga in particular is Krishna's glory, drawing on his role in the divine play rather than only his kingship. Shesha is the thousand-hooded king of all nagas who, in the ocean of milk, eternally becomes Bhagavan's couch and gives him rest and comfort. He has many times taken incarnation alongside Bhagavan and shared in his lila, his divine sport. It is for this intimate service and companionship that Bhagavan declares Shesha to be his vibhuti.
A few questions to carry
These ask for understanding, not recall; each answer is settled by the commentary itself.
Carry this with youwhat stays
Notice what the named figure among the restrainers actually does. One commentator describes Yama as the witness of the acts of all living beings, the one who keeps account of every good and bad action. To take this verse to heart is to remember that the power which weighs your deeds is not an alien force set against you; it is one of Krishna's own glories. The justice that holds the moral order steady, the giving of the fruit of right and wrong action, is divine. So you can meet it without dread, living as one who is already watched with care, and letting that steady awareness shape how you act.
The witness who weighs your deeds is not an alien power set against you; it is his own glory, and you are watched with care.
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The commentary, woven together
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Convergence
his verse continues Krishna's list of his vibhutis, his glories or chief manifestations, by naming four supreme figures, one from each of four classes of beings. He says he is Ananta among the nagas, Varuna among the water-creatures, Aryaman among the ancestors, and Yama among those who restrain. The unbroken pattern is that within each category Krishna identifies himself with the king, head, or foremost one: the best representative of the class stands for his presence in it. The commentators read each line this way, taking the genitive case ("of the nagas," "of the water-dwellers") to mean "the chief among them."
Braided from 9 commentators
Śaṅkarācārya · Madhusūdana Sarasvatī · Dhanapati Sūri · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī · Śrīla Baladeva · Swami Sivananda · Lokmanya Tilak · Vallabhācārya
The first glory is Ananta among the nagas. Nagas are a class of serpents, and the commentators specify that Ananta is their king, also named Shesha. Several add that this kind of serpent is the non-poisonous or still kind, distinct from ordinary venomous snakes. Ananta-Shesha is described as the thousand-hooded or many-headed cosmic serpent. The second glory is Varuna among the water-creatures (yadas): Varuna is the king or presiding deity of the waters and of all sea-creatures.
Braided from 12 commentators
Śaṅkarācārya · Madhusūdana Sarasvatī · Dhanapati Sūri · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī · Śrīla Baladeva · Swami Sivananda · Swami Ramsukhdas · Vallabhācārya · Rāmānujācārya · Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha · Śrīla Viśvanātha
The third glory is Aryaman among the pitrs, the ancestors or departed fathers. The commentators agree that Aryaman is the king or chief of the ancestors, the foremost of the ancestral deities. The fourth glory is Yama among the restrainers (samyamatam). Several commentators explain who these restrainers are: they are the ones who keep order by punishing, by meting out justice, dispensing the fruit of right and wrong action. Yama is the lord of this function. One source calls him the wielder of the rod of justice, and another the witness who keeps account of every being's good and bad deeds.
Braided from 9 commentators
Śaṅkarācārya · Madhusūdana Sarasvatī · Dhanapati Sūri · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī · Śrīla Baladeva · Swami Sivananda · Vallabhācārya · Śrīla Viśvanātha
Divergence
Viśiṣṭādvaita
On two points this reading parts from the common gloss. First, on the nagas: where some take the genitive ("of the nagas") as a genitive of selection, picking out one best member, this reading says the genitive here is not one of selection; the nagas as a class are characterized as many-headed. Second, the figure named among the restrainers is not Yama by that name but Vaivasvata, the son of Vivasvat. The point of distinguishing the nagas as many-headed (against the more usual idea that the difference between naga and ordinary serpent is poisonous versus non-poisonous) is also noted and debated by a modern commentator who finds neither distinction fully convincing.
Rāmānujācārya
Śuddhādvaita
This reading draws out a devotional and ritual meaning from the line about Aryaman, chief of the ancestors. Because Aryaman is of Bhagavan's form, the whole line of ancestors propitiated in the shraddha rite (the offering of food to the departed) is to be honored and contemplated as devoted to Bhagavan. One source adds, through the word "ca" ("and") in the verse, that Krishna is present in the form of the ancestors for everyone, not only the named chief; the ancestral line is itself to be meditated on as a manifestation of God.
Vallabhācārya · Śrī Puruṣottama
Modern
This reading dwells on why Shesha-naga in particular is Krishna's glory, drawing on his role in the divine play rather than only his kingship. Shesha is the thousand-hooded king of all nagas who, in the ocean of milk, eternally becomes Bhagavan's couch and gives him rest and comfort. He has many times taken incarnation alongside Bhagavan and shared in his lila, his divine sport. It is for this intimate service and companionship that Bhagavan declares Shesha to be his vibhuti.
Swami Ramsukhdas
A Seeker Asks
Why does Krishna point to figures like Yama the lord of death and punishment, or serpent-kings and water-gods, as his glories, rather than only to obviously beautiful or benevolent things?
The principle running through the verse is that Krishna is present as the chief, the king, the foremost one within each class of beings. He is not picking out only the pleasant categories; he is naming the head of every order of existence, so that wherever supremacy or rule appears, there his glory is to be recognized.
Śaṅkarācārya · Madhusūdana Sarasvatī · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī · Śrīla Baladeva
Yama is named precisely because the function of restraint and justice is itself divine. The restrainers are those who keep order by dispensing the fruit of right and wrong action, and Yama is their lord, described as the wielder of the rod of justice and the witness who keeps account of every being's deeds. The power that judges and corrects is therefore not opposed to God but is one of his glories.
Madhusūdana Sarasvatī · Śrīla Baladeva · Swami Sivananda
Even a figure like Shesha, the serpent-king, is a glory not for fearsomeness but for loving service: he eternally becomes Bhagavan's resting couch and shares in his divine play. And the ancestral chief is named so that the whole line of departed fathers may be honored and contemplated as devoted to God. So these figures are glories because each, in its own way, manifests God's rule, justice, or intimate presence.
Swami Ramsukhdas · Vallabhācārya
Contemplation
Notice what the named figure among the restrainers actually does. One commentator describes Yama as the witness of the acts of all living beings, the one who keeps account of every good and bad action. To take this verse to heart is to remember that the power which weighs your deeds is not an alien force set against you; it is one of Krishna's own glories. The justice that holds the moral order steady, the giving of the fruit of right and wrong action, is divine. So you can meet it without dread, living as one who is already watched with care, and letting that steady awareness shape how you act.
Sit with this · Swami Sivananda
All the translations and commentary
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