Devanagari
पुरोधसां च मुख्यं मां विद्धि पार्थ बृहस्पतिम् ।
सेनानीनामहं स्कन्द: सरसामस्मि सागर: ॥ २४ ॥
Verse text
purodhasāṁ ca mukhyaṁ māṁ
viddhi pārtha bṛhaspatim
senānīnām ahaṁ skandaḥ
sarasām asmi sāgaraḥ
Synonyms
purodhasām
—
of all priests
;
ca
—
also
;
mukhyam
—
the chief
;
mām
—
Me
;
viddhi
—
understand
;
pārtha
—
O son of Pṛthā
;
bṛhaspatim
—
Bṛhaspati
;
senānīnām
—
of all commanders
;
aham
—
I am
;
skandaḥ
—
Kārttikeya
;
sarasām
—
of all reservoirs of water
;
asmi
—
I am
;
sāgaraḥ
—
the ocean.
Translation
Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Bṛhaspati. Of generals I am Kārttikeya, and of bodies of water I am the ocean.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
24. Among head priests, I am the chief one, Bṛhaspati. Among leaders of armies, I am Kārtikeya. Among reservoirs of water, I am the ocean.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
24. Among head priests, I am the chief one, Bṛhaspati. Among leaders of armies, I am Kārtikeya. Among reservoirs of water, I am the ocean.
Purport
Indra is the chief demigod of the heavenly planets and is known as the king of the heavens. The planet on which he reigns is called Indraloka. Bṛhaspati is Indra’s priest, and since Indra is the chief of all kings, Bṛhaspati is the chief of all priests. And as Indra is the chief of all kings, similarly Skanda, or Kārttikeya, the son of Pārvatī and Lord Śiva, is the chief of all military commanders. And of all bodies of water, the ocean is the greatest. These representations of Kṛṣṇa only give hints of His greatness.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Skanda means Kārtikeya. The form senānīnām is poetic license (the other form would be senāniyam).
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
Know Me as the chief among Indra’s priests, Bṛhaspati, the master of all. As Indra is the chief among all kings, so his head priest is the chief among all head priests of kings. The form of the word senānīnām as a genitive plural form, with the addition of the “n,” after senānī is poetic license. The normal form would be senānyām. Among all the commanders of kings’ armies, I am Kārttikeya (skandaḥ). Among water bodies (as opposed to rivers), I am the ocean.
Surrender Unto Me
The ocean, due to its greatness, neither decreases nor increases. So much water leaves the ocean in the form of evaporation to form the clouds, and so much water enters the ocean in the form of rain and rivers, yet the ocean always remains the same because the ocean's greatness.
Krsna in Chapter Two, told Arjuna to be like the ocean, never be agitated by flow of desires that rush to the mind like the ocean is never disturbed although so many rivers rush towards it.