vedānāḿ sāma-vedo ’smi
devānām asmi vāsavaḥ
indriyāṇāḿ manaś cāsmi
bhūtānām asmi cetanā
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 10.22
Of the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness].
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
The difference between matter and spirit is that matter has no consciousness like the living entity; therefore this consciousness is supreme and eternal. Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Among the devatas, I am Indra (vasavah). I am jnana sakti (cetana) related to all beings. Here the use of the genitive relational.
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
10.22 Of the Vedas, namely, Of Rk, Yajus, Saman, Atharva, I am that Samaveda which is the paramount one. Of the gods, I am Indra. Of eleven sense-organs, I am the sense-organ called Manas which is most paramount. Of living beings, namely, of those with consciousness, I am that consciousness. Here too the genitive is not used for specifying.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
Here Lord Krishna reveals His vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence as the SamaVeda, the chief of all the demigods Indra, of the senses He is the mind and of living beings He is cetana or consciousness.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Sri Madhvacharya did not comment on this sloka.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
Among the four Vedas, Lord Krishna’s vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence is found in the Sama Veda which excels the others by the sweetness of its melody. Among the demigods His vibhuti is Indra, the celestial chief of all the demigods. Among the 11 organs of perception His vibhuti the mind is master of them all and He is the cetana or consciousness in all living beings.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
10.22 Vedanam, among the Vedas; I am the Sama-veda. Devanam, among the gods-such as Rudras, Adityas and others; I am vasavah, Indra. Indriyanam, among the eleven organs, viz eye etc.; I am the manah, mind. I am the mind which is of the nature of reflection and doubt. And I am the cetana, intelligence [It is the medium for the manifestation of Consciousness.], the function of the intellect ever manifest in the aggregate of body and organs; bhtanam, in creatures.
Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:
10.19-42 Hanta te etc. upto jagat sthitah. I am the Soul etc. (verse 20) : By this [the Bhagavat] wards off the exclusion [of any being as different form Him]. Otherwise the sentences like ‘Of the immovable [I am] the the Himalayas’ (verse 25) etc., would amount to the exclusive statement that the Himalayan range is the Bhagavat and not any other one. In that case, the indiscriminateness of the Brahman is not established and hence the realisation of the Brahman would be a partial (or conditioned) one. For, the [present] text of exposition is intended for that seeker whose mind cannot contemplate on the all-pervasiveness [of the Brahman], but who [at the same time] is desirous of realising that [all-pervasiveness]. Hence, while concluding, [the Bhagavat] teaches the theory of duality-cumunity by saying ‘whatsoever being exists with the manifesting power’ etc., and then concludes the topic with the theory of absolute unity, as ‘Or what is the use of this elaboration;…..I remain pervading this [universe] by a single fraction [of Myself] This has been declared indeed [in the scriptures] as : ‘All beings constitute [only] His one-fourth; His [other] immortal three-forths are in the heaven.’ (Rgveda, X, xc, 3). Thus, all this and the prime cause of creatures, are nothing but the Bhagavat (Absolute). And hence, He Himself becomes the object of knowledge of all, but being comprehended with the different strange qualities.
Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:
vedanam sama-vedo ’smi
devanam asmi vasavah
indriyanam manas casmi
bhutanam asmi cetana
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
vedānām — of all the Vedas; sāma-vedaḥ — the Sāma Veda; asmi — I am; devānām — of all the demigods; asmi — I am; vāsavaḥ — the heavenly king; indriyāṇām — of all the senses; manaḥ — the mind; ca — also; asmi — I am; bhūtānām — of all living entities; asmi — I am; cetanā — the living force.
