Verse 7.8
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः | प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ||८||
Transliteration (IAST)
raso'hamapsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśisūryayoḥ | praṇavaḥ sarvavedēṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu ||8||
Word-by-Word Meanings
रसः-taste
अहम्-I am
अप्सु-in water
प्रभा-light
प्रणवः-the syllable Om
पौरुषम्-ability/virility
Translation
I am the taste in water, O son of Kunti, the radiance in the moon and sun, the sacred syllable Om in all the Vedas, sound in ether, and ability in men.
Commentary
Krishna begins a series of verses showing His presence as the essential quality in all things. This is not pantheism but panentheism - God is the essence that makes each thing what it is. Ramanuja interprets this as God being the inner controller (antaryamin) manifesting as the defining characteristic of each element.
Themes
jnanabhakti