Shri Bhagavan said:

The grace of Bhagavan Shri Krishna knows no bounds. He is never tired of showering His supreme words of wisdom to His devotees. With the help of the supreme knowledge spoken by Bhagavan in chapter IX, Arjuna has now crossed yet another stage. He now loves towards Bhagavan Shri Krishna. When the love develops in the heart, no obstacles remain. Bhagavan showers His grace unreservedly and the enlightenment soon follows. A saint has said `without the water of love, the soap of Sadhana is useless'. Now that Arjuna has developed that love, Bhagavan again wants to recite His supreme words in a different light, wishing the welfare of His devotee. Arjuna is blessed.

The next verses summarise the entire knowledge in a very compact form and at the end of it, Arjuna's ignorance is removed. His love and devotion are brought to a boiling point.

Bhagavan Shri Krishna sets the limits of knowledge for His seeker. It is impossible for anyone, even the gods and the Maharshis, to know His creation. What is His creation or birth? He was never created. Hence, His manifestation in various forms at different times and His actions are His creations. Both these are divine and no body knows the secret of these two. Nobody knows in what form He is going to manifest Himself and when; and nobody knows what He is going to do when. The moment one thinks that he has known Bhagavan's manifestations and he can anticipate His actions, he must be regarded as ignorant. No manifestation, including the highest manifestations of gods and great sages, can over know Him or anticipate His actions.

The story of Ajamila was referred to in the discussion below verse 22 of chapter IX. When the messengers of Bhagavan Vishnu drove away the agents of Yamaraja (the god who is responsible for inflicting punishment or reward after death according to the actions of the individuals), the latter were greatly surprised.

They had been following the rules and instructions laid down by Yamaraja according to which the sins committed by Ajamila could not have been wiped away just by uttering the name Narayana that too with the intention of calling his younger son. Then the agents of Yama went to their lord and narrated the incident and asked him, `Is there any power higher than you also? We thought that everybody is subject to the discipline imposed by you which we have been carrying out faithfully and successfully. Today, however, we had a strange experience when the messengers of Vishnu drove us away and prevented us from carrying out your instructions'. Yamaraja replied, 'O servants, higher than Me, there is a supreme existence of Bhagavan by whom this entire universe is pervaded and whose actions are not known to any of the great gods and sages including Brahma, Mahadeva and myself. His actions are the manifestations of His supreme grace which is beyond all rules, disciplines and restrictions and He always showers His unbound grace on His devotees (Ajamila was a great devotee of Bhagavan before he took to the sinful career) I bow down to that transcendental being. May He forgive us and bless us."

Bhagavan Shri Krishna has explained why His ways are not known to anyone. He is the cause of the gods and the great sages. If I build a computer, whatever else the computer may be able to do, it can never fathom me, nor know my motives. In fact what the computer can know depends upon how I have created it. Similarly, Bhagavan has caused all the manifestations and each manifestation implies a point of view. Hence, the knowledge that a manifestation can have about Bhagavan and His actions is limited by that point of view. Nobody can know Him in absolute terms beyond all points of view. He alone knows Himself.

Without knowing His origin or creation (which is impossible as stated in the last verse), it is enough to know that He is birthless, beginningless and the Lord of all the beings. Knowing this much one sets beyond the delusion and is freed from all sins. Knowing His birth and actions is impossible but he who even knows this much that they are divine gets liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

This verse and the previous verse conclude very neatly what cannot be known and what is sufficient to know to get liberation from delusion and sins. When knowing this much (as stated in this verse) why should we try to know more?

Out of the dispositions enumerated by Bhagavan Shri Krishna, discrimination, knowledge, non delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, self control, tranquillity, non injury, equanimity, austerity and charity are positive virtues. They arise on account of Him and therefore one should not be carried away by ego at the time when one finds oneself among these virtuous dispositions. Other dispositions enumerated by Shri Krishna are experiences of duality like happiness, sorrow; creation, destruction; fear, fearlessness; fame and ill fame. These should be undergone with equanimity of mind without any attachment or aversion.

Since discrimination, knowledge and non delusion have been enumerated as dispositions arising out of Bhagavan, it follows that what one can know or realise (according to the last verse) is necessarily on account of His grace.

The seven great sages are Marichi. Angira, Atri, Pulatsaya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasistha. They belong to the first Manvantara of the present Kalpa (there are 14 Manvantara in a Kalpa). They were all born of Bhagavan's mind. The earlier four sages are Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara. They are His own manifestations.

It is not necessary to fathom His powers and glory. Simply knowing this much, in the heart of hearts, is enough. This knowledge leads to unflinching state of self-union.

When the faith becomes deep-rooted that Bhagavan alone is the source of everything and all the activity arises out of His motivation, the attachment and aversion with respect to all the objects, manifestations and actions goes. The enlightened ones who know this constantly, even amidst activity, worship Him with devotion. The devotion automatically arises out of this knowledge.

When the devotion fills the life of the enlightened they get completely absorbed in Him. They enlighten each other and talk about Him. There may not be anything new to say. Even repetition of the same stories of His greatness, His divine play with love and devotion keeps the devotees contended and always happy. This is the value of `Satsang' - the company of devotees. What Bhagavan Shri Krishna is talking in the verse is not a discussion or debate with a view to establishing truth. It is simply recitation of His name, and stories of His greatness, and divine play which leads to ever increasing love and satisfaction.

Now You have said it, Krishna. You have been beating about the bush for so long. How does this verse compare with the one You uttered in chapter VI (verse 36 of that chapter)? In that verse you made Arjuna and all of us think that a lot of effort, self control and the proper technique is essential for attaining Yoga.

Arjuna was frightened and he wanted to be sure that he would not be lost from both worlds before be burnt his boats. But the fact is that behind all the efforts, austerities, practices of self-control and techniques is Your grace. Without Your grace, nothing can stand on its own. We bow down to You at every stage. We try to worship you with whatever love You have given us at present. Remember this verse, O gracious one. Or, may be, that when You give us more love, we may not bother about anything. Then it is for you, O dearest one, to do whatever you like with us. You are everything to us. Whatever we have is given by You only. What can we offer to You, O lord of lords? Accept us as we are.

Your grace, your compassion, your mercy knows no bounds. When you are moved by the plight of your ignorant devotees, you, residing in their Antahkarana, in their heart, remove the ignorance by the light of knowledge. The ignorance born of Your magic Maya cannot be dispelled except by Your grace. Let no one think that he can gain or attain knowledge on his own or that he can remove the ignorance by any amount of his own effort. You hold that lamp of knowledge, which alone can destroy the darkness of ignorance. When You bless your devotees, Your lamp of knowledge destroys the darkness of ignorance instantaneously. The scholars may argue ad-nauseum about the cause of darkness (of ignorance) but it won't go. When You choose to bless us, your lamp of knowledge destroys the darkness instantaneously.

This is indeed what You did to Arjuna at the very moment when you uttered the verse. Just as the verse came out from Your divine lips, Arjuna's ignorance was no more. When the ignorance was removed, his heart was filled with the supreme knowledge and deep devotion for You and the glorious divine prayer of you emanated from his lips. The prayer in the following verses is absolutely uninhibited, spontaneous and divine.

These divine words full of devotion in the praise of Bhagavan Shri Krishna come out of Arjuna's lips spontaneously and effortlessly. Now only he has got the full answer of his question in verse 4, chapter IV. It must not be forgotten that Arjuna has never taken Shri Krishna's word for granted unless he has been fully convinced. Wherever he had doubt, he made it a point to raise it in most categorical terms. His frank and sometimes even blunt questions put in verses 33,34 of chapter VI would illustrate this point. If he now speaks these words of praise for Shri Krishna, it cannot be just to flatter Him. Arjuna's ignorance, which was limiting his vision, has vanished. Bhagavan Shri Krishna has done the trick in the previous verse. Bhagavan's prediction in the second line of verse 3, chapter IV has also come true. Arjuna finds himself a devotee of Bhagavan Shri Krishna. His vision is now unlimited as his speech unrestrained and uninhibited. A world of difference in Arjuna since he spoke last (in the beginning of chapter VIII).

Devotion is so strong and uppermost in Arjuna now that he does not need any logic to believe Shri Krishna's words. This was not the case so far. He has been weighing very carefully whatever Bhagavan had been saying to him and raising doubts also where he felt that the logic was not clear. Now he has crossed that stage. Now he is prepared to swear by whatever his beloved Lord says, quite regardless of understanding. Arjuna now knows that nobody knows the mystery of Bhagavan's personality. Neither the gods (manifestations of nobility) nor the demons (manifestations of evil) know in what form Bhagavan manifests Himself from time to time. Hence, Arjuna concludes that what Bhagavan Shri Krishna Himself says should be taken as true without any scrutiny.

The verse has an important lesson for all of us. In whatever form Bhagavan appears before us, communicates with us, we should accept Him without any question or doubt. Whatever vision, experience or thought we have relating to Him, we should accept as true, coming from Him and representing Him. We should never try to analyse whether what we saw, felt or experienced was really His manifestation or not, for nobody knows what is His real manifestation. We should accept His grace in whatever form it comes to us.

The first line of the verse indicates the unbound love that Arjuna has for Shri Krishna while the second line acknowledges His greatness.

Arjuna is completely carried away by the supreme devotion of Bhagavan Krishna, which is culmination of all knowledge. Words flowing from his lips are like drops of nectar - so wonderful to listen to, so delicious to enjoy. Who else can know Shri Krishna except He Himself?

Even though Arjuna's heart is full of love and devotion, he does not know how to sustain and maintain it. He does not want to detach his mind from the thought of his beloved and deity. He wants to be constantly thinking of Him and he does not know how to do it. So he makes a request to Bhagavan to tell him in what way he should think of Him, in what forms he should meditate on Him. What a lovely predicament! The lover does not know how he should think of his beloved and so he makes a request to his beloved to advise him about that. When the mind finds the bliss of Shri Krishna's divine company, it does not want to lose it.

The appetite of divine love is infinite. How can anybody be over satisfied by the nectar of the words flowing from the lips of Shri Krishna? Not knowing how else to prolong the conversation, Arjuna request Bhagavan Shri Krishna to again recite the description of His power and glories in detail, so that He does not stop too soon.

Nearness to Bhagavan is the key to supreme knowledge. All worldly desires, aversions and attachments, doubts and worldly miseries and conflicts get drowned in the nectar that flows out of the nearness to Bhagavan. When we experience His in our hearts is our supreme beloved and Lord, we happily go through whatever lies ahead.

Bhagavan Shri Krishna would never refuse to comply with the request of Arjuna. He promises to recount His principal divine glories, otherwise the discourse would never end.

Shri Krishna starts with His all-pervading glory, the soul of everything and ever existing in the changing forms.

Twelve sons of Aditi, the mother of gods and the wife of saga Kashyapa are called the Adityas. Vishnu or Vamana who is the best of them being the incarnation of Brahma.

Marutas are the forty-nine sons of Diti (mother of demons) born out of the spiritual glow of her austerity. There is no Maruta by the name of Marichi. Hence, the Lord may mean `the glow' out of which all the Marutas were born.

There are eleven Rudras, and, out of them, Lord Shankara or Shiva is the best. Vasus are eight of which fire god is the best. He is regarded as the mouth of God. Meru was regarded as the highest and most majestic of the mountains.

The Lord of wealth is Kubera, a grandson of sage Pulastya and son of Visrava.

Brihaspati is the preceptor of Indra, the king of gods, and the family priest of the gods. He is the son of sage Angira. Kartikeya is son of Lord Shiva and the commander of the army of gods.

Of the great sages I am Bhrigu; of speech, I am the monosyllable; of Yajynas, I am the Japa (chanting of divine names); of immovables, I am Himalaya. (25)

Vayu Purana mentions ten great sages (Maharshis) who were born of Brahma,s mind and possessed divine powers. They are Bhrigu, Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulaha, Kratu, Manu, Daksha, Vashishtha and Pulatsya. Of these, Bhagavan declares Himself to be Bhrigu

The monosyllable is ‘Om’, the Pranava. Of all the significant words, the Pranava stands as the foremost. Japayajynana, the chanting of divine names, has been praised highly in the code of Manu.

Modern science says that the Himalayas are the least stable of all the mountains and yet Bhagavan implies that it is the most stable. The scientific truth is not relevant here. The divine glories enumerated by Bhagavan are to help the common people in seeing Him everywhere. Hence the popular belief is more relevant. According to the popular belief, Himalayas were regarded as the most stable of all mountains.

Gandharvas are the celestial musicians and out of them Chitraratha has been proclaimed as Bhagavan's Vibhuti. Kapila was an incarnation of Bhagavan, the son of sage Kardama and Devahuti. He was a foremost teacher of Sankhya.

Uchchaisharavas, the celestial horse was manifest during the churning of the ocean for nectar. Airavata is the elephant of Indra.

Many may question whether a king is the best among men. It may be far better to be an accomplished scholar or saint than to be a king, they may argue. However Bhagavan Krishna is describing His divine glories from the point of view of diverse people who may have different values. Those who regard that king is the best among men, for them He is the king.

Naradhipa may also mean the Manu presiding ever a particular Manvantara just as vaivasvata Manu is the lord of the present Manvantara.

Thunderbolt, Indra's weapon, was made of the bones of the great sage Dadhichi. It is unfailing. Kamadhenu, the best of cows, came out from the ocean at the time of churning by gods and demons. Kamadhenu has the power to fulfil all desires. Kandarpa is the god of sexual love. Vasuki is the king of serpents and a devotee of Bhagavan.

Ananta or Shesha, having a thousand heads, is the best of Nagas and serves as the bed of Bhagavan Vishnu. Varuna is the lord of all aquatic creatures.

Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakashipa, was a great devotee of Bhagavan Krishna. For his sake, Bhagavan instantaneously took the form of Narasimha (half man and half lion) and killed his evil father. Not only among demons but even among His devotees, Prahlada is foremost.

Garuda is the vehicle of Bhagavan Vishnu.

Some have translated `Pavatama' as to mean `among those who move fast'.

The first vowel is the basis of speech. Even a dumb person can pronounce it. In Dvandva compound, the two parts are equivalent - being joined by `and'.

By calling death as His own glory, Bhagavan conveys the message that death is not something evil. In fact, it was the fear of death, which led to intense contemplation in the case of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and resulted in self-realisation.

The women enumerated by Bhagavan except Shri and Vak are among the daughters of Daksha Prajapati. Kirti, Medha and Dhriti were married to Dharma, Smriti was married to the sage Angira and Kshama to the sage Pulaha. Shri was married to sage Bhrigu’s daughter and was married to Bhagavan Narayana. Vak is the daughter of Brahma. They are all goddesses presiding over fame (Kirti), prosperity (Shri), (Speech (Vak), memory (Smriti), intelligence (Medha) steadfastness (Dhriti) and forgiveness (Kshama).

Margashirsha corresponds roughly to November.

Gambling appears to be the only exception of a vice being enumerated by Shri Krishna as His glory. However, in a general sense, gambling can mean a situation in which, not knowing anything better, one is driven to take a chance. Then one can be deceived in the sense that things may work out contrary to one's expectations. If one remembers that the chance factor or bad luck which deceived him is nothing but Him, the disappointment and despondency would go.

He is the glory of the glorious, victory as well as effort. He is the pureness of the pure. Knowing thus, one would not be troubled by ego and would worship the glorious, victorious, men of effort and the pure and pious inwardly as endowed with the divine glories of Bhagavan.

Bhagavan makes it clear that His glory in the form of Shri Krishna, the son of Vasudeva is also just one of the glories. No manifestation can have overriding precedence over other manifestations and yet meditation on any one of them is sufficient for knowing Him in entirety. Bhagavan has not even called Shri Krishna as the best of incarnations, although scriptures describe the incarnation of Shri Krishna as the most complete incarnation of Bhagavan. Bhagavan makes a modest statement on behalf of Shri Krishna by calling Him just the best of Vrishnis - the class to which He belonged.

Arjuna was undoubtedly regarded as the best of Pandavas. The important point is that Arjuna is now so much enlightened by the grace of Bhagavan that he can be told this on his face without the ego troubling him. In any case when Bhagavan Himself is making a statement, how can ego ever dare to raise its head.

Shukracharya has been hailed as the best of the wise. He is the priest of the demons. He knows the science of bringing the dead back to life. In any case the demons, being evil minded, need the wisest counsel.

Nothing subdues like punishment. The necessity of punishment has also been felt in all societies to curb evil. This punishment is also a glory of Bhagavan. `Guhya' can mean a secret and also it can be `something which must be kept closest to the heart.' Remaining silent is the best way to cherish what is dearest to the heart. This silence is Bhagavan's glory.

The description of divine glories so far given by Bhagavan at the request of Arjuna has many noble objects in view. It enables every devotee of Bhagavan to see Him in the form, which appeals to Him most. The divine glories are either associated with positive virtues (like knowledge, purity, valour etc.) or with apparently unpleasant experiences which are also useful to one on the path of Brahma in a subtle way (like death, destruction, punishment etc.). Also, an opportunity has been given to mention in names of divine sages, saints and devotees of Bhagavan and their remembrance itself is elevating.

But of what avail is it to you to know this elaboration; I exist pervading this entire universe by a portion of Myself. (42)

In the last verse Bhagavan had made the point that each glorious, brilliant or energetic manifestation arises out of just a portion of His glory. Now He says that He exists pervading the entire universe containing all the manifestations only by a portion of Himself.

`But of what avail is it to you to know this elaboration' are His magic words. The impact of them cannot be expressed in words. When one has devotion to Him, one is not interested in details, models, and theories; even concepts. One just chants His names at random, speaks of His glory at random and residing in bliss. In order to progress further, one must rise above `elaboration'. One might ponder over His glories at random, but if an effort is made to recount all His prominent glorious in any particular order, this exercise would spoil the fun. Hence Bhagavan gives a piece of advice to Arjuna - of what avail is it to you to know this elaboration. Bhagavan Shri Krishna is generous and graceful, always engaged in the welfare of His devotees, when requested by Arjuna He recounted His prominent glories, thus satisfying Arjuna's curiosity. Having done that, He tells Arjuna not to be bogged down by remembering all of them in any order but simply meditate on whatever comes to his mind and enjoy it. There is great wisdom in rising above the elaboration.