Verse 37
वृष्णीनां वासुदेवोऽस्मि पाण्डवानां धनञ्जयः | मुनीनामप्यहं व्यासः कवीनामुशना कविः || ३७ ||
Transliteration
vṛṣṇīnāṁ vāsudevo 'smi pāṇḍavānāṁ dhanañjayaḥ munīnām apy ahaṁ vyāsaḥ kavīnām uśanā kaviḥ
Synonyms
vṛṣṇīnām—of the Vrishnis; vāsudevaḥ—Krishna; asmi—I am; pāṇḍavānām—of the Pandavas; dhanañjayaḥ—Arjuna; munīnām—of the sages; api—also; aham—I am; vyāsaḥ—Vyasa; kavīnām—of all great thinkers; uśanā—Ushanas (Shukracharya); kaviḥ—the thinker.
Translation
“Of the Vrishnis I am Vasudeva (Krishna); of the Pandavas I am Arjuna; of sages I am Vyasa; of great thinkers I am Ushanas.”
Multi-Tradition Commentary
Remarkably, Krishna names Arjuna — the very person to whom He is speaking — as His vibhūti among the Pandavas. This is not flattery; it reveals the non-dual heart of the teaching. The student who sincerely receives divine wisdom becomes, in that very reception, an expression of the Divine. The guru and the ideal disciple are ultimately not separate.
Practical Application (Modern Life)
When you genuinely absorb and embody sacred wisdom, you yourself become a living expression of it. The highest honor you can pay your teacher is to live the teaching so fully that others encounter the Divine through you. Aspire not merely to understand, but to become what you understand.