Devanagari
दण्डो दमयतामस्मि नीतिरस्मि जिगीषताम् ।
मौनं चैवास्मि गुह्यानां ज्ञानं ज्ञानवतामहम् ॥ ३८ ॥
Verse text
daṇḍo damayatām asmi
nītir asmi jigīṣatām
maunaṁ caivāsmi guhyānāṁ
jṣānaṁ jṣānavatām aham
Synonyms
daṇḍaḥ
—
punishment
;
damayatām
—
of all means of suppression
;
asmi
—
I am
;
nītiḥ
—
morality
;
asmi
—
I am
;
jigīṣatām
—
of those who seek victory
;
maunam
—
silence
;
ca
—
and
;
eva
—
also
;
asmi
—
I am
;
guhyānām
—
of secrets
;
jṣānam
—
knowledge
;
jṣāna-vatām
—
of the wise
;
aham
—
I am.
Translation
Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
38. I am punishment among those who punish. In those who desire victory, I am proper policy. In secrets, I am silence. I am knowledge in those who have knowledge.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
38. I am correct punishment among those who carry out punish. In those who desire victory, I am proper method. In secrets, I am silence. I am knowledge in those who have knowledge.
Purport
There are many suppressing agents, of which the most important are those that cut down miscreants. When miscreants are punished, the agency of chastisement represents Kṛṣṇa. Among those who are trying to be victorious in some field of activity, the most victorious element is morality. Among the confidential activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence is most important because by silence one can make progress very quickly. The wise man is he who can discriminate between matter and spirit, between God’s superior and inferior natures. Such knowledge is Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Among those who punish, I am punishment. Here the genitive is used to indicate relationship.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
In relation to those who punish, I am punishment itself—that punishment by which those who deviate return to the correct path. Such punishment is My vibhūti. In relation to those who desire victory, I am proper policy. I am silence (meditating), among hearing, deliberation and meditating (guhyānām). It is better than hearing and deliberation because it is not separated from the final goal of realization as the other items are. [Note: First comes hearing, then contemplation, then meditation, and then realization of God. Meditation is next to the realization.] In relation to those with knowledge of matter and spirit, I am their knowledge of those matters.
Surrender Unto Me
Now Krsna begins to sum‑up.
[3. Beginning to sum‑up, Krsna explains that He is the generating seed without which nothing can exist. Krsna continues, saying that all these opulences are mere indications of His glory ‑ everything beautiful, glorious, and mighty springs from but a spark of His splendor ‑ as He pervades and supports the entire universe with but a mere fragment of His total potency. (39‑42) ]