Shloka 23

Kṣetra–Kṣetrajña-Jñāna–Jñeya-Viveka

Field, Knower, Knowledge, and the Knowable

Devanagari script

रुद्राणां शंकरश्नास्मि वित्तेशो यक्षरक्षसाम्‌ | वसूनां पावकश्नास्मि मेर: शिखरिणामहम्‌

Transliteration

rudrāṇāṁ śaṅkaraś cāsmi vitteśo yakṣarakṣasām | vasūnāṁ pāvakaś cāsmi meruḥ śikhariṇām aham ||

Translation

Among the Rudras I am Śaṅkara; among Yakṣas and Rākṣasas I am the Lord of Wealth. Among the Vasus I am Fire, and among mountains I am Meru.

Word by Word

रुद्राणाम्of the Rudras

शंकरःShankara (Śiva)

नnot / (emphatic particle in some contexts)

अस्मिI am

वित्तेशःthe lord of wealth (Kubera)

यक्षरक्षसाम्of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas

वसूनाम्of the Vasus

पावकःPāvaka (Agni, fire)

नnot / (emphatic particle in some contexts)

अस्मिI am

मेरुःMeru (the cosmic mountain)

शिखरिणाम्of the peak-bearing (mountains)

अहम्I

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Rudras

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Yakṣas

Rākṣasas

Vitteśa (Kubera)

Vasus

Pāvaka (Agni)

Meru

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the Divine is recognized as the supreme excellence within every category—deities, spirits, elemental powers, and cosmic landmarks—encouraging a unified vision that supports steadiness and right action (dharma) even amid conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the war setting of Bhīṣma Parva, a theophanic catalogue is being spoken: the speaker identifies the Divine with the foremost figures—Śiva among Rudras, Kubera among Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, Agni among Vasus, and Meru among mountains—expanding the listener’s awareness from the battlefield to the cosmic order.