Bhagavad Gita — Vibhuti Yoga, Shloka 29

Vibhuti Yoga

Devanagari script

अनन्तश्चास्मि नागानां वरुणो यादसामहम् । पितॄणामर्यमा चास्मि यमः संयमतामहम् ॥ १०.२९ ॥

Transliteration

anantaś cāsmi nāgānāṃ varuṇo yādasām aham | pitṝṇām aryamā cāsmi yamaḥ saṃyamatām aham || 10.29 ||

Translation

Among nāgas I am Ananta; among aquatic beings I am Varuṇa. Among the ancestors I am Aryaman; among those who restrain and govern I am Yama.

Gita Press Meaning

I am Ananta among nāgas; among aquatic beings I am Varuṇa. Among the ancestors I am Aryaman; among those who restrain and govern I am Yama.

Critical Edition Meaning

Among the nāgas I am Ananta; among water-dwellers I am Varuṇa; among the Pitṛs I am Aryaman; among those who exercise control (discipline/judgment) I am Yama.

Comparative Note

Most printed recensions agree on the identifications. Translation differences mainly concern the semantic range of saṃyamatām (“those who restrain/discipline” vs. “controllers/punishers”), often framed ethically rather than punitively in modern renderings.

Word by Word

• अनन्तः: Ananta (the infinite serpent)
• अनन्तः: Karta
• Root: अनन्त

• च: and
• Root: च

• अस्मि: I am
• Root: √अस्

• नागानाम्: of the nāgas (serpent beings)
• Root: नाग

• वरुणः: Varuṇa (lord of waters)
• वरुणः: Karta
• Root: वरुण

• यादसाम्: of the aquatic beings (water-dwellers)
• Root: यादस्

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Root: अहम्

• पितॄणाम्: of the Pitṛs (manes/ancestors)
• Root: पितृ

• अर्यमा: Aryamā (a Āditya)
• अर्यमा: Karta
• Root: अर्यमा

• च: and
• Root: च

• अस्मि: I am
• Root: √अस्

• यमः: Yama (lord of restraint/death)
• यमः: Karta
• Root: यम

• संयमताम्: of those who restrain/control
• Root: संयमत्

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Root: अहम्

Speakers

• Krishna
• Arjuna

Primary Concepts

• Vibhuti
• Ishvara
• Cosmic order (ṛta/dharma)
• Discipline (saṃyama)

Key Themes

• Divine immanence
• Symbolic exemplars
• Order and governance

FAQs

Psychological significance?

The verse frames self-regulation (saṃyama) as a sacred capacity: disciplined attention, impulse-control, and ethical restraint are presented as expressions of an underlying, integrating principle.

Metaphysical meaning?

Krishna identifies the divine with exemplary archetypes across domains, suggesting a metaphysics of immanence: the ultimate reality is present as the highest potency within each class of beings.

Contextual relevance?

Within the Vibhūti-yoga catalogue, these identifications function as mnemonic pointers—recognizable cultural figures (Ananta, Varuṇa, Aryaman, Yama) used to indicate divine pervasiveness.

Modern Application?

One may read the verse as encouraging reverence for systems that sustain life—ecological waters, ancestral continuity, and ethical self-governance—without requiring literal belief in the named deities.