FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 10.38

దణ్డో దమయతామస్మి నీతిరస్మి జిగీషతామ్ । మౌనం చైవాస్మి గుహ్యానాం జ్ఞానం జ్ఞానవతామహమ్ ॥ ౩౮ ॥
daṇḍo damayatām asmi
[dando damayataam asmi]
nītir asmi jigīṣatām
[neetir asmi jigeeshataam]
maunaṁ caivāsmi guhyānāṁ
[maunam chaivaasmi guhyaanaam]
jñānaṁ jñānavatām aham
[jnaanam jnaanavataam aham]
Word-for-word
daṇḍaḥ — punishment damayatām — of all means of suppression asmi — I am nītiḥ — morality asmi — I am jigīṣatām — of those who seek victory maunam — silence ca — and eva — also asmi — I am guhyānām — of secrets jñānam — knowledge jñāna - vatām — of the wise aham — I am .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
daṇḍo damayatām asmi
daṇḍaḥ
punishment
damayatām
of all means of suppression
asmi
I am
nītir asmi jigīṣatām
nītiḥ
morality
asmi
I am
jigīṣatām
of those who seek victory
maunaṁ caivāsmi guhyānāṁ
maunam
silence
ca
and
eva
also
asmi
I am
guhyānām
of secrets
jñānaṁ jñānavatām aham
jñānam
knowledge
jñāna - vatām
of the wise
aham
I am .
Important Words
  • daṇḍaḥ — punishment, the rod
    Daṇḍa-nīti — the science of just punishment — was the foundation of kṣatriya rule. Among damayatām (means of suppression), the lawful rod is supreme. Kṛṣṇa identifies with the legitimate corrective force that keeps order.
  • nītiḥ — morality, statecraft
    From nī — 'to lead.' Among those who seek victory (jigīṣatām), morality is supreme — wars won by adharma are eventually lost. Kṛṣṇa places ethics, not stratagem, at the head of jaya.
  • maunam — silence
    From muni — 'one who keeps mauna.' Among secrets (guhyānām), silence is the chief secret. Not 'a kind of secret' but the very condition that lets a secret remain one. Kṛṣṇa identifies with the discipline of unspeaking.
  • jñānam — knowledge, wisdom
    Among the wise (jñāna-vatām), wisdom itself is what Kṛṣṇa identifies with — not the wise persons but the wisdom within them. The category-member is the quality, not the person who holds it.
Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom.
Purport

There are many suppressing agents, of which the most important are those that cut down miscreants. When miscreants are punished, the agency of chastisement represents Kṛṣṇa. Among those who are trying to be victorious in some field of activity, the most victorious element is morality. Among the confidential activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence is most important because by silence one can make progress very quickly. The wise man is he who can discriminate between matter and spirit, between God’s superior and inferior natures. Such knowledge is Kṛṣṇa Himself.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
38. I am punishment among those who punish. In those who desire victory, I am proper policy. In secrets, I am silence. I am knowledge in those who have knowledge.
Commentary

Among those who punish, I am punishment. Here the genitive is used to indicate relationship.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
38. I am correct punishment among those who carry out punish. In those who desire victory, I am proper method. In secrets, I am silence. I am knowledge in those who have knowledge.
Commentary

In relation to those who punish, I am punishment itself—that punishment by which those who deviate return to the correct path. Such punishment is My vibhūti. In relation to those who desire victory, I am proper policy. I am silence (meditating), among hearing, deliberation and meditating (guhyānām). It is better than hearing and deliberation because it is not separated from the final goal of realization as the other items are. [Note: First comes hearing, then contemplation, then meditation, and then realization of God. Meditation is next to the realization.] In relation to those with knowledge of matter and spirit, I am their knowledge of those matters.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Now Krsna begins to sum‑up.

[3. Beginning to sum‑up, Krsna explains that He is the generating seed without which nothing can exist. Krsna continues, saying that all these opulences are mere indications of His glory ‑ everything beautiful, glorious, and mighty springs from but a spark of His splendor ‑ as He pervades and supports the entire universe with but a mere fragment of His total potency. (39‑42) ]

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
10.38 Damayatam, of the punishers; I am dandah, the rod, which is the means of controlling the lawless. I am the nitih, righteous policy; jagisatam, of those who desire to coner. And guhyanam, of things secret; I am verily maunam, silence. I am jnanam, knowledge; jnanavatam, of the men of knowledge.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
10.38 I am the power of punishment of those who punish, if law is transgressed. In regard to those who seek victory I am policy which is the means of getting victory. Of factors associated with secrecy. I am silence. I am the wisdon of those who are wise.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
10.38 See Comment under 10.42
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
10.38 Of those who punish, I am the sceptre; among those who seek victory, I am statesmanship; and also among secrets, I am silence; knowledge among knowers I am.
Commentary

10.38 दण्डः the sceptre? दमयताम् among punishers? अस्मि (I) am? नीतिः statesmanship? अस्मि (I) am? जिगीषताम् among thoese who seek victory? मौनम् silence? च and? एव also? अस्मि (I) am? गुह्यानाम् among secrets? ज्ञानम् the knowledge? ज्ञानवताम् among the knowers? अहम् I.Commentary Niti Diplomacy? polity.Maunam The silence produced by constant meditation on Brahman or the Self.Jnanam Knowledge of the Self.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
10.38 Of the punishers I am the rod; I am the righteous policy of those who desire to coner. And of things secret, I am verily silence; I am knowledge of the men of knowledge৷৷
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
10.38 I am the Sceptre of rulers, the Strategy of the conquerors, the Silence of mystery, the Wisdom of the wise.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 2.66 BG 4.34 BG 18.78 SB 7.11.8 SB 1.12.19 SB 11.7.9 CC Ādi 1.104 CC Antya 4.71 CC Madhya 22.100 Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.5.1Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.8
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Of all means of subduing the lawless I am punishment; of those who seek victory I am morality; of secret things I am silence; the wisdom of the wise I am.
Practical Applications
  • Honor silence as His specific manifestation.
  • Use silence in your spiritual practice deliberately.
  • Don't treat speech as default.
Reflection Questions
  • When did I last practice deliberate silence?
  • What might silence reveal?
Analogy

Among ways to restrain disorder, the rod of punishment; among strategies for victory, morality; among secrets, silence; among the wise, the actual wisdom they hold. Kṛṣṇa names the unobvious choices — not the loudest but the most decisive. Silence keeps the secret; morality wins lasting battles; wisdom, not credentialing, makes the wise.

Stories
Bhīṣma's silence at Draupadī's disrobing

When Draupadī was being dragged into court and disrobed, Bhīṣma — the grandsire, the wisest of the assembly, the man whose word could have stopped the entire scene — did not speak. His silence became one of the Mahābhārata's central moral knots.

Later, on the bed of arrows, Bhīṣma himself acknowledged the failure. The verse's 'maunam guhyānām' — silence among secrets — cuts both ways. Kept silence preserves dharma; failed silence damages it. The same vibhūti can illuminate or wound depending on whether it is held at the right moment.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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