THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 10
VIBHUTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS:
VERSE NUMBER 28
Text in Transliteration:
aayudhaanaam aham vajram dhenoonaam asmi kaamadhuk
prajanas cha ‘smi kandarpah: sparpaanaam asmi vaasukih:
Sanskrite words and phrases and their meaning:
Aayudhaanaam = among weapons; aham = I; vajram = the
thunderbolt; dhenoonaam = among cows; asmi = (I) am; kaamadhuk = Kanadhuk
(Surabhi) the heavenly cow which yields all desires; prjanah = the progenitor;
cha = and; asmi = (I) am; kandarpah: = Kandarpa (Kamadev); sarpaanaam = among
serpents; asmi (I) am; vaasukih: = Vasuki.
Text in English:
Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; of cows I am Kamadhuk; I am
kandarpa of the progenitors; of serpents I am Vasuki.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Mace and discus are the wonted weapons of Sriman Narayana. Instead
of referring to these celebrated weapons, the Lord has purposely made mention
of Vajra or the thunderbolt. The former weapons are eternally part and parcel
of His innate being. Whereas Vajra is a manufactured one for a set purpose. Indra,
the lord of the Devas found it impossible to vanquish the invincible Vrtrasura
except with the weapon of Vajra. But where on earth or in haven could the
material be found to achieve this great end? The material for the manufacture
of this all powerful arm is the bones of a sage who is all purity, all
austerity and all perfection, voluntarily given to this cause of universal
welfare. Indra found the fulfilment of all of these conditions in the sage
Dadhichi. On Indra’s presenting his case, the sage sat in Samaadhi and gave up
the body for the conquest of evil. The thunderbolt could be made because of the
sacrifice of Dadhichi. Manufacture of Vajraayudha is the ideal ever held out to
India in particular and humanity in general, to combat wickedness. The willing
self-sacrifice of a large number of holy men and women for public welfare is
what is wanted. This holy act is allegorically put as the weapon of Vajra. The Lord
is present where the weapon of Vajra is present.
Kamadhuk or the milch cow of desire is one of the rare
products from the churning of the ocean of milk already mentioned. This cow has
the power to supply all the requirements in life. Tradition has it that the
Rishi Vasishta was never in want because of the profuse supply made by this
divine cow. Mention is made in chapter three, stanza ten that a willing and
cheerful mind and the endeavours on right lines constitute this milch cow of
desire. In plain words, an exuberant mind and wholesome ventures are indeed are
glories of God.
Kandarpa is Cupid—the personification of the progenitive
instinct. Progeny is possible because of this urge in beings. It is not to be condemned
as base but revered as divine in origin. The Lord puts it to us that this urge
is His divine attribute.
The serpent is a venomous creature. All the same it is
associated with Iswara in all His forms. It is the symbol of Sakti, the Cosmic
Energy. In man the dormant power is called the Kundalini Sakti or the coiled up
energy symbolized as serpent power. Happiness and misery, life and death are
both expressions of energy. The negative expression is the poison in the snake.
Vasuki the poisonous snake was utilized as the rope to rotate the Mount Meru in
the act of churning the ocean. The Lord speaks of this snake as His own energy.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:
Vajram: the thunderbolt weapon made of the bone of Dadhichi;
an implement of warfare which can only be handled by Indra who has finished a
hundred sacrifices.
Kamadhuk: The cow Kamadhenu of the great sage Vasishtha
which yielded all the desired objects, also born of the ocean of milk.
Kandarpa: Cupid.
Vasuki: The Lord of hoodless or ordinary serpents.
Sarpa (serpent) had only one head. Vasuki is yellow-coloured.
Nagas have many heads. Ananta is fire-colured.
Sridhara says that the ‘Sarpa’ is poisonous and the ‘Naga’
is non-poisonous. Sri Ramanuja says that ‘Sarpa’ has only one head and ‘Naga’
has many heads.
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