vāyur yamo ’gnir varuṇaḥ śaśāńkaḥ
prajāpatis tvaḿ prapitāmahaś ca
namo namas te ’stu sahasra-kṛtvaḥ
punaś ca bhūyo ’pi namo namas te
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 11.39
You are air, and You are the supreme controller! You are fire, You are water, and You are the moon! You are Brahma, the first living creature, and You are the great-grandfather. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You a thousand times, and again and yet again!
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
The Lord is addressed here as air because the air is the most important representation of all the demigods, being all-pervasive. Arjuna also addresses Krishna as the great-grandfather because He is the father of Brahma, the first living creature in the universe.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
No commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur.
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
11.39 You alone are the great-grandsire of all and also grandfather etc. The Prajapatis are the fathers of all creatures. Hiranyagarbha (Brahma), the father of the Prajapatis, is the grandsire of all creatures. You, being the father of even Hiranyagarbha, are great grandfather of all creatures. You alone are denoted by the several terms by which these beings are known. Such is the meaning. Beholding the Lord in a most marvellous form, Arjuna, bent with great awe, saluted Him from all sides with his eyes widely open from joy.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
Naming the various demigods which are Lord Krishna’s vibhuti or divine transcendental opulences are stated to imply that He is the sum total of all the demigods as He is even the progentitor of the grandsire Brahma responsible for visargah or secondary creation. At this time due to feelings of excessive devotion, reverence and anxiety Arjuna offers his own obeisances sahasra-krtvah meaning 1000’s and 1000’s of times and not being satisfied offers humble prostrations many, many times upon the ground before Lord Krishna.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Here it is inferred that Lord Krishna is the composite total of all the demigods beginning with Vayu the demigod in charge of the wind due to the fact that they all are parts of His vibhuti or divine transcendental opulence. Va symbolises strength and aya symbolises wisdom which in their unlimited forms are qualities of the Supreme Lord. Since He is fully complete and resplendent within Himself various demigods are mentioned such agni or fire and varunah or ocean which represent His vibhuti or divine transcenndental opulence. Thus they manifest in unlimited ways.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
In exaltation Arjuna is exuberating on the manifest potencies of the Supreme Lord Krishna exclaiming He is the wind god, the fire god, the water god, etc. and Brahma as well as being the grandsire of all. Obeisance thousands of times Arjuna is offering Him again and again.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
11.39 You are vayuh, Air; yamah, Death; and agnih, Fire; varunah, the god of the waters; sasankah, the moon; prajapatih, the Lord of the creatures- Kasyapa and others [See note on p.2.-Tr.]; and pra-pitamahah, the Great-grandfather, i.e. the Father ever of Brahma (Hiranyagarbha). Namo, salutations; namah, salutation; astu, be; te, to You; sahasra-krtvah, a thousand times. Punah ca bhuyah api namo te, salutation to You again and again; namah, salutation! The suffix krtvasuc (after sahasra) indicates performance and repetition of the act of salutation a number of times. The words punah ca bhuyah api (again and again) indicate his own dissatisfaction [Dissatisfaction with only a few salutations.] owing to abundance of reverence and devotion. So also,
Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:
11.39-40 Namo namah etc. Salutation and salutation : This repetition reveals the intensity of the devotion. What has been taught by the past chapters by the Bhagavat regarding His own intrinsic nature, Arjuna – witnessing the same by perception – declares it openly by way of devotional hymn. Hence, to comment on the hymn would symply amount to the repetition [of what has already been said by us]. Hence, let me (11.Ag.) abstain [from commenting on it].
Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:
vayur yamo ’gnir varunah sasankah
prajapatis tvam prapitamahas ca
namo namas te ’stu sahasra-krtvah
punas ca bhuyo ’pi namo namas te
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
vāyuḥ — air; yamaḥ — the controller; agniḥ — fire; varuṇaḥ — water; śaśa-ańkaḥ — the moon; prajāpatiḥ — Brahmā; tvam — You; prapitāmahaḥ — the great-grandfather; ca — also; namaḥ — my respects; namaḥ — again my respects; te — unto You; astu — let there be; sahasra-kṛtvaḥ — a thousand times; punaḥ ca — and again; bhūyaḥ — again; api — also; namaḥ — offering my respects; namaḥ te — offering my respects unto You.
