Bhagavad-gītā 10.34

Explain simply

Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa

मृत्युः सर्वहरश्चाहमुद्भवश्च भविष्यताम् ।
कीर्तिः श्रीर्वाक्च नारीणां स्मृतिर्मेधा धृतिः क्षमा ॥३४॥

mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham
udbhavaś ca bhaviṣyatām
kīrtiḥ śrīr vāk ca nārīṇāṁ
smṛtir medhā dhṛtiḥ kṣamā

Word for word (synonyms)

mṛtyuḥ
death
sarva-haraḥ
all-devouring
ca
also
aham
I am
udbhavaḥ
generation
ca
also
bhaviṣyatām
of the future
kīrtiḥ
fame
śrīḥ vāk
beautiful speech
ca
also
nārīṇāṁ
of women
smṛtiḥ
memory
medhā
intelligence
dhṛtiḥ
faithfulness
kṣamā
patience

Translation

I am all-devouring death, and I am the generator of all things yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, speech, memory, intelligence, faithfulness and patience.

Purport

As soon as a man is born, he dies at every moment. Thus death is devouring every living entity at every moment, but the last stroke is called death itself. That death is Kṛṣṇa. All species of life undergo six basic changes. They are born, they grow, they remain for some time, they reproduce, they dwindle and finally vanish. Of these changes, the first is deliverance from the womb, and that is Kṛṣṇa. The first generation is the beginning of all future activities.

The six opulences listed are considered to be feminine. If a woman possesses all of them or some of them she becomes glorious. Sanskrit is a perfect language and is therefore very glorious. After studying, if one can remember the subject matter, he is gifted with good memory, or smṛti One need not read many books on different subject matters; the ability to remember a few and quote them when necessary is also another opulence.

What this verse teaches

Various opulences of Kṛṣṇa (See the table)

Themes
Death
Kṛṣṇa's opulences: "Among … I am …" Full table
Verse AmongI am
10.34 women fame, fortune, speech, memory, intelligence, faithfulness and patience
"I am also …" Full table
Verse I am
10.34 all-devouring death
10.34 the generator of all things yet to be
In thematic compilations 1

Death

  • I am all-devouring death (10.34 mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham...)

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.