Bg. 10.28 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

आयुधानामहं वज्रं धेनूनामस्मि कामधुक् । प्रजनश्चास्मि कन्दर्प: सर्पाणामस्मि वासुकि: ॥ २८ ॥

Verse text

āyudhānām ahaṁ vajraṁ dhenūnām asmi kāma-dhuk prajanaś cāsmi kandarpaḥ sarpāṇām asmi vāsukiḥ

Synonyms

āyudhānām — of all weapons ; aham — I am ; vajram — the thunderbolt ; dhenūnām — of cows ; asmi — I am ; kāma-dhuk — the surabhi cow ; prajanaḥ — the cause for begetting children ; ca — and ; asmi — I am ; kandarpaḥ — Cupid ; sarpāṇām — of serpents ; asmi — I am ; vāsukiḥ — Vāsuki.

Translation

Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the surabhi. Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vāsuki.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

28. Among weapons, I am the thunderbolt. Among cows, I am the Kāmadhenu. Among types of lust, I am that for producing offspring. Among snakes, I am Vāsuki.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

28. Among weapons, I am the thunderbolt. Among cows, I am the Kāmadhenu. Among types of lust, I am that for producing offspring. Among snakes, I am Vāsuki.

Purport

The thunderbolt, indeed a mighty weapon, represents Kṛṣṇa’s power. In Kṛṣṇaloka in the spiritual sky there are cows which can be milked at any time, and they give as much milk as one likes. Of course such cows do not exist in this material world, but there is mention of them in Kṛṣṇaloka. The Lord keeps many such cows, which are called surabhi. It is stated that the Lord is engaged in herding the surabhi cows. Kandarpa is the sex desire for presenting good sons; therefore Kandarpa is the representative of Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes sex is engaged in only for sense gratification; such sex does not represent Kṛṣṇa. But sex for the generation of good children is called Kandarpa and represents Kṛṣṇa.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Among the cows, I am Kāmadhenu (kāma-dhuk). [Note: This cow was born from the churning of the milk ocean. She gives unlimited milk.] Among the types of lust, I am lust for the purpose of producing offspring (prajanaḥ).

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

Among weapons, I am the thunderbolt. I am the kāma dhenu, who fulfills whatever one desires, among the cows. I am that lust which produces children (prajanaḥ). Ca here indicates that I am not lust whose only purpose is pleasure of the sex act. Among snakes with one head, I am Vāsuki.