मृत्युः सर्वहरश्चाहमुद्भवश्च भविष्यताम्।
कीर्तिः श्रीर्वाक्च नारीणां स्मृतिर्मेधा धृतिः क्षमा।।10.34।।
बृहत्साम तथा साम्नां गायत्री छन्दसामहम्।
मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहमृतूनां कुसुमाकरः।।10.35।।
द्यूतं छलयतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम्।
जयोऽस्मि व्यवसायोऽस्मि सत्त्वं सत्त्ववतामहम्।।10.36।।
वृष्णीनां वासुदेवोऽस्मि पाण्डवानां धनंजयः।
मुनीनामप्यहं व्यासः कवीनामुशना कविः।।10.37।।
दण्डो दमयतामस्मि नीतिरस्मि जिगीषताम्।
मौनं चैवास्मि गुह्यानां ज्ञानं ज्ञानवतामहम्।।10.38।।
And I am Death, the destroyer of all; and the bestower of prosperity to those destined to be prosperous. Of the feminine [Narinam may mean ‘of the feminine qualities’. According to Sridhara Swami and S., the words fame etc. signify the goddesses of the respective qualities. According to M.S. these seven goddesses are the wives of the god Dharma.-Tr.] (I am) fame, beauty, speech, memory, intelligence, fortitude, and forbearance.
I am also the Brhat-sama of the Sama-mantras; of the meters, Gayatri. Of the months, I am Marga-sirsa, and of the seasons, spring.
Of the fraudulent, I am the gambling; I am the irresistible end of the mighty. I am excellence, I am effort, I am the sattva quality of those possessed of sattva.
Of the Vrsnis, I am Vasudeva; of the Pandavas, Dhananjaya (Arjuna). Of the wise, I am Vyasa; of the omniscient, the omniscient Usanas.
Of the punishers, I am the rod; I am the righteous policy of those who desire to conquer. And of things secret, I am verily silence; I am the knowledge of the wise.
Osho’s Commentary
Krishna’s vision is all-encompassing. He claims not just the positive aspects of life, but also the seemingly negative. “I am the all-devouring death.” And “I am the gambling of the cheats.” What does this mean? It means that even in the darkest corners of existence, the divine energy is present, though perhaps in a distorted or perverted form. To see God only in the good is a partial vision. The true vision is to see the one reality playing in all its forms, light and dark. Life is a great gamble, a great game of chance. And even in this game, the divine is present. Among women, he lists seven great qualities: fame, prosperity, beautiful speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness, and forgiveness. These represent the highest flowering of the feminine principle. Of the Pandavas, he says, “I am Dhananjaya”—another name for Arjuna himself. This is the most intimate and direct pointer. After taking Arjuna on a grand tour of the cosmos, he brings him back to himself. He is saying, “If you want to see me in the Pandavas, look no further. Look within your own self.” And of all secrets, “I am the silence.” Speech can reveal, but silence can reveal even more. The ultimate truths cannot be spoken; they can only be experienced in a deep, inner silence. And finally, “I am the knowledge of the knowers.” Not just knowledge as information, but the very faculty of knowing, the pure consciousness that is the source of all knowledge. This is the ultimate, the tattva-jnana.