Wherever a thing stands first among its kind, that excellence is a trace of him.

Krishna keeps naming his vibhutis, his special glories, by picking the finest member of each class. He has already said elsewhere that among the Vedas he is the Samaveda; here he zooms in further. Among the Saman chants he names the Brihat-saman as himself. The commentators identify this as a particular chant set to the words of a specific Rik verse (most cite the line beginning 'we invoke you indeed'), and they note it is used as an after-praise chant (prishtha-stotra) in a great soma rite, sung in praise of Indra as the Lord of all. Krishna is that chant because it stands supreme among the Samans.

Among the meters (chhandas, the fixed syllabic patterns that shape Vedic verses) Krishna is the Gayatri. The commentators dwell on why this meter is the best of all. It is the verse that confers the 'second birth' on the twice-born: the initiated student is reborn through the Gayatri, so it is called the mother of that spiritual birth. Several add a further reason drawn from scripture: when the meters flew to fetch the Soma, only the Gayatri succeeded, carrying back both the lost syllables and the Soma itself, which is why it is held to pervade all the pressings of the rite. Some go further still and quote the Chandogya that 'the Gayatri is indeed all this that has come to be,' treating it as an embodiment of Brahman. Because of this supremacy, Krishna is the Gayatri.

Among the twelve months Krishna is Margashirsha. The commentators explain the name and the choice: it is the month in which the full moon joins the Mrigashira constellation, and it is singled out for its richness in fresh, ripe grain and produce, and for being free of harsh cold and heat, so it brings happiness. Some note that in older reckoning the year began with this month, giving it the place of honor.

Among the six seasons Krishna is the flower-bringing spring (kusumakara, literally the 'mine' or maker of flowers). The commentators praise it as the most delightful season, the source of all fragrant flowers, free of extremes of cold and heat. Several anchor its sacredness in scriptural injunctions that ritual acts belong to spring: the brahmin's initiation, the setting up of the sacred fires, and the seasonal sacrifices are all to be begun in spring, which is called the brahmin's own season. Because it surpasses the other seasons in loveliness and auspiciousness, Krishna is the spring.

Across all four items the underlying logic is the same and the commentators state it openly: Krishna is not claiming to be every chant, meter, month, or season, but the best, the chief, the most excellent member of each class. The recurring word is supremacy or excellence (shraishtha). The vibhuti is shown wherever some thing stands at the head of its kind, because that pre-eminence is itself a trace of the divine.