Verse 22
Vedaanaam saamavedo’smi
Devaanaam asmi vaasavah;
Indriyaanaam manashchaasmi
Bhootaanaamasmi chetanaa.
Vedānāṁ sāmavedo’smi: “I am the Sama Veda among the Vedas.”
Because of its intonation, the beauty of its melody and the belief that it is
the quintessence of even the Rigveda—and, in addition, it is set to music—the
Sama Veda is considered to be especially sacred.
Devānām asmi vāsavaḥ: “I am Indra among the Gods” because he
is the king of the Gods.
Indriyāṇāṁ manaś cāsmi: “Of all the perceptive capacities, I am the mind.” This is because even though the sense organs are organs of perception, no doubt, without the mind they cannot perceive anything; the eyes cannot see, the ears cannot hear, etc.
The central cognitive or perceptive faculty is the mind. The mind is the king in this body, operating its satellites which are the sense organs. So “I am the mind among the sense organs—that is, the cognitive functions.”
Bhūtānām asmi cetanā: “I am consciousness among all people. Wherever
there is awareness, consider Me as manifest there.”
Verse 23
Rudraanaam shankarashchaasmi
Vittesho yaksharakshasaam;
Vasoonaam paavakashchaasmi
Meruh shikharinaamaham.
Rudrāṇāṁ śaṁkaraś cāsmi: Just as there are twelve Adityas, there are eleven Rudras, of
which the most peaceful and compassionate one—the salubrious and most easily
approachable, calm and quiet one—is Siva. Rudra is supposed to be very angry,
ferocious and active; but all forms of Rudra are not like that.
Rudra is also Siva. There is the Siva aspect
which is calm and blessed and subdued, and there is also Rudra which is fierce.
“There are eleven Rudras, of which the glorious, peaceful Sankara am I,
radiating love and compassion.”
It is said that Ravana worshipped Rudra in
all the forms. Ravana had ten heads. The story goes that Ravana cut off one of
his heads and offered it to one form of Rudra. He then cut off another head and
offered it to the second Rudra. In this manner he offered his ten heads to ten
Rudras; but the eleventh Rudra could not be appeased because Ravana did not
have eleven heads.
The eleventh Rudra became angry because
nothing had been offered to him, so he appeared in the form of fierce
Hanuman.
It is said that Hanuman in Lanka was a
manifestation of the eleventh Rudra — Rudravatara — who destroyed Lanka because
Ravana could not satisfy him. It seems that Ravana wept and said, “If I had
eleven heads, I would not have suffered like this. I had only ten.”
Vitteśo yakṣarakṣasām: “Among the Yakshas and Rakshasas—the demi-gods, who are neither
brutal Rakshasas nor Gods, but are something midway between them—I am Kubera,
the Lord of riches, the treasurer of Rudra, or Siva.”
Vasūnāṁ pāvakaś cāsmi: “There are eight Vasus, called Ashtavasu,
who are also demigods. Of them I am Agni, the fire God.”
Meruḥ śikhariṇām aham: “Of all the highest mountains with towering peaks, I am Meru
Parvata.”
Verse 24
Purodhasaam cha mukhyam
Maam viddhipaartha brihaspatim;
Senaaneenaamaham skandah
Sarasaamasmi saagarah.
Purodhasāṁ ca mukhyaṁ māṁ viddhi pārtha bṛhaspatim “Among all preceptors, guides, and all
Gurus, I am Brihaspati.” This is because Brihaspati is supposed to be the most
intelligent and wisest of all teachers. He is the Guru of the Gods, and is a God
himself.
Senānīnām ahaṁ skandaḥ: “Among military generals, I am Skanda.”
Skanda, or Kartikeya, was the most powerful leader of armies.
Sarasām asmi sāgaraḥ: “Among reservoirs of water, I am the ocean” because it is the
vastest reservoir of water.
Thus, as given in the introduction to these verses in the previous post, in all these declaration, Sri Krishna is either pointing out at highest physical power or vastness (of all other than human beings) or highest intellect (when it is about Living beings). When Sri Krishna is referring to any incarnation (like Skanda), all powers, physical and intelligence and even beyond, are all considered together.
Love.
