purodhasāḿ ca mukhyaḿ māḿ
viddhi pārtha bṛhaspatim
senānīnām ahaḿ skandaḥ
sarasām asmi sāgaraḥ
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 10.24
Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Brihaspati. Of generals I am Kartikeya, and of bodies of water I am the ocean.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Indra is the chief demigod of the heavenly planets and is known as the king of the heavens. The planet on which he reigns is called Indraloka. Brihaspati is Indra’s priest, and since Indra is the chief of all kings, Brihaspati is the chief of all priests. And as Indra is the chief of all kings, similarly Skanda, or Kartikeya, the son of Parvati and Lord Shiva, is the chief of all military commanders. And of all bodies of water, the ocean is the greatest. These representations of Krishna only give hints of His greatness.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Skanda means Kartikeya. The form senaninam is poetic license (the other form would be senaniyam).
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
10.24 I am that Bhraspati who is paramount among family priests. Of generals, I am Skanda. Of reservoirs of waters, O am the ocean.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
Of priests Lord Krishna’s vibhuti divine, transcendental opulence is Brihaspati the priest of all the demigods, of generals His vibhuti is Skanda the commander of the demigods and who is also known as Kartikeya the son of Shiva and of fixed bodies of water His vibhuti is the mighty ocean.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Sri Madhvacharya did not comment on this sloka.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
Among priests know Lord Krishna’s vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulenceto be Brihaspati the chief priest of all the demigods and among warrior chiefs know His vibhuti to be Skandah the general and commander of the army of the demigods and is known as Kartikeya.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
10.24 O son of Prtha viddhi, know; mam, Me; to be Brahaspati, mukhyam, the foremost; purodhasam, among the priests of kings. Being as he is the priest of Indra, he should be the foremost. Senaninam, among commaners of armies; I am Skanda, the commander of the armies of gods. Sarasam, among large expanses of water, among reservoirs dug by gods (i.e. among nature reservoirs); I am sagarah, the sea.
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:
purodhasam ca mukhyam mam
viddhi partha brhaspatim
senaninam aham skandah
sarasam asmi sagarah
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
purodhasām — of all priests; ca — also; mukhyam — the chief; mām — Me; viddhi — understand; pārtha — O son of Pṛthā; bṛhaspatim — Bṛhaspati; senānīnām — of all commanders; aham — I am; skandaḥ — Kārttikeya; sarasām — of all reservoirs of water; asmi — I am; sāgaraḥ — the ocean.
