Bg. 9.16 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

अहं क्रतुरहं यज्ञ: स्वधाहमहमौषधम् । मन्‍त्रोऽहमहमेवाज्यमहमग्न‍िरहं हुतम् ॥ १६ ॥

Verse text

ahaṁ kratur ahaṁ yajṣaḥ svadhāham aham auṣadham mantro ’ham aham evājyam aham agnir ahaṁ hutam

Synonyms

aham — I ; kratuḥ — Vedic ritual ; aham — I ; yajṣaḥ — smṛti sacrifice ; svadhā — oblation ; aham — I ; aham — I ; auṣadham — healing herb ; mantraḥ — transcendental chant ; aham — I ; aham — I ; eva — certainly ; ājyam — melted butter ; aham — I ; agniḥ — fire ; aham — I ; hutam — offering.

Translation

But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

16-19. I am the sacrifices mentioned in the śruti and smṛti, the offering to the Pitṛs, the herbs, the mantra, the ghee, the fire and the act of offering. I am the father of the universe, the mother, the maintainer, the grandfather, the object of knowledge, the purifier, om, the Ṛk, Sāma and Yajur Vedas. I am the result, the master, the controller, the witness, the abode, the shelter, the friend. I am creation, destruction and maintenance, the treasure, the indestructible cause. I create heat, withdraw rain and then shower it. I am liberation and bondage, the subtle and gross, O Arjuna.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

16-19. I am the vedic and smārta sacrifices, the offering to the pitṛs, the herbs, the mantra, the ghee, the fire and the act of offering. I am the father of the universe, the mother, the maintainer, the grandfather, the object of knowledge, the purifier, om, the ṛk, sāma and yajur Vedas. I am the method, the master, the controller, the witness, the abode, the shelter, the friend. I am creation, destruction and maintenance, the treasure, the indestructible cause or seed. I create heat, withdraw rain and then shower it. I am liberation and bondage, the subtle and gross, O Arjuna.

Purport

The Vedic sacrifice known as Jyotiṣṭoma is also Kṛṣṇa, and He is also the Mahā-yajṣa mentioned in the smṛti. The oblations offered to the Pitṛloka or the sacrifice performed to please the Pitṛloka, considered as a kind of drug in the form of clarified butter, is also Kṛṣṇa. The mantras chanted in this connection are also Kṛṣṇa. And many other commodities made with milk products for offering in the sacrifices are also Kṛṣṇa. The fire is also Kṛṣṇa because fire is one of the five material elements and is therefore claimed as the separated energy of Kṛṣṇa. In other words, the Vedic sacrifices recommended in the karma-kāṇḍa division of the Vedas are in total also Kṛṣṇa. Or, in other words, those who are engaged in rendering devotional service unto Kṛṣṇa are to be understood to have performed all the sacrifices recommended in the Vedas.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

“How one can worship You as viśvarūpa in many ways (bahudhā)?” The Lord speaks four verses in response. Kratu means sacrifices mentioned in the śruti like the agniṣṭoma. Yajṣa refers to sacrifices mentioned in the smṛtis like vaiśvadeva-homa. Auṣadham refers to food made from herbs. I am the father (pitā) because I give rise to individual and total ingredients (material cause) for all the universes. I am the mother (mātā) because I hold within My womb the universe. I am the nourisher (dātā) of the universe. I am the grandfather, because I produce the creator of the universe, Brahmā. I am the object to be known and the object which purifies. I am the result (gati), the master (bhartṛ), the controller (prabhu), the seer of all good and bad things (sakṣi), the abode (nivāsaḥ), the deliverer from dangers (śaraṇam), and the motiveless benefactor (suhṛt). I am the act of creation, destruction and maintenance (prabhava-pralaya-sthānam). I am the treasures (nidhānam) such as padma-nidhi and śaṅkha-nidhi, [Note: These are some of Kuvera’s treasures.] the cause (bījam), which is indestructible (avyayam), unlike rice and other seeds which are temporary. Being the sun, I cause heat in the summer, and shower rain in the rainy season, and sometimes I also hold back the rain. I am liberation (amṛtam), and repeated birth and death in bondage (mṛtyuḥ). I am the subtle and the gross (sad-asad). Thus the person, thinking that I am all of this, worships Me as the form of universe. These verses are thus connected with the last part of verse 15 which mentions the universal form.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

In four verses Kṛṣṇa shows how He is situated in the form of the universe. Kratu refers to the Vedic śrauta sacrifices such as jyotiṣṭoma. Yajṣa refers to the sacrifices such as vaiśvadeva, mentioned in the smṛtis. Svadhā refers to the śrāddha rites offered to the pitas. Auṣadha means medicine or food coming from herbs. Mantra means the words such as yājyāpuro nu uttered in offering oblations to the devatās. Ajya means the substances for offering such as ghee. The fires (agni) used for sacrifice are of various types such as āhavanīya. Hūta means the act of offering oblations. I am situated as the soul of all those things. I am situated as the mother, the father and the grandfather of each moving and non-moving thing in the universe. I, in the form of kings and others, am situated as the maintainer and nourisher in all those entities (dhātā). Because I am the possessor of all energies material and spiritual, and the paramātmā within all matter and jīvas, the number of living entities to maintain is no problem for Me. I am what is to be known (vedyam) and what purifies (pavitram)—the waters of rivers like the Gaṅgā. I am om, the seed of all the Vedas and the cause of knowledge of Brahman, the object of knowledge (vedyam). I am the three Vedas, ṛk, yajus and sāma. The word ca indicates Atharva Veda. Rk also refers to the vedic verse with regular syllables. Sāma refers to those verses with regular meter and which are sung. Some say that sāma refers to any verse which is sung. Yajus refers to verses not sung and with irregular syllables. I am these three types of mantras useful in rites. Gati means the method or path by which a goal is achieved, literally “that by which something is attained (gamyate). Bhartā means a protector. Prabhu means controller. Sākṣī means the seer of all sinful and pious acts. Nivāsa means a place of enjoyment, literally, where one resides. Śaraṇa means He who takes away the suffering or the person who approaches. The derivation of the word is “that in which suffering will be destroyed (duḥkham śīrṣyate asmin).” Suhṛt is one who does beneficial activities for someone else because of that person’s qualifications. prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ refer to the acts of creation destruction, and maintenance. Nidhānam refer to the nine treasures such as padma nidhi. [Note: Kuvera has nine treasures: padmanidhi, mahānidhi, saṅkhanidhi, makaranidhi, kacchapanidhi, mukundanidhi, nandanidhi, nīlanidhi and kharvanidhi.] Bijam means the cause which is indestructible I am not perishable like rice and other material seeds. In the form of the sun, I heat the universe during the summer. During monsoon season, I release rain (varṣam) in the form of clouds. Sometimes in the form of drought, I draw back the rain. I am liberation (amṛtam) and saṁsāra (mṛtyuḥ). I am the gross (sat) and the subtle (asat). I alone am all of this. I, the son of Vasudeva, one person, holding all powers, am situated in the form of the whole universe with many names and forms. Some worship Me with this jṣāna yajṣa, which searches out the one person in these many things.