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← Chapter 10: The Yoga of Divine Manifestations

Verse 10.31

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

पवनः पवतामस्मि रामः शस्त्रभृतामहम् | झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मि जाह्नवी ||३१||

Transliteration (IAST)

pavanah pavatam asmi ramah sastra-bhrtam aham | jhasanam makaras casmi srotasam asmi jahnavi ||31||

Word-by-Word Meanings

pavanah-the wind
pavatam-of purifiers
ramah-Rama
sastra-bhrtam-of weapon-bearers
jhasanam-of fishes
makarah-the shark (makara)
srotasam-of rivers
jahnavi-the Ganges

Translation

Among purifiers I am the wind; among warriors I am Rama; among fishes I am the shark; and among rivers I am the Ganges.

Commentary

Wind purifies by its very movement, requiring no external agency. Rama (Parashurama or Sri Rama) represents the ideal warrior-king who wields weapons only for dharma. The Ganges (Jahnavi) is the most sacred of rivers, believed to purify all sins. Shankaracharya interprets Rama here as Parashurama, while Ramanuja identifies him as Sri Ramachandra.

Themes

dharmabhakti