pavanaḥ pavatām asmi
rāmaḥ śastra-bhṛtām aham
jhaṣāṇāḿ makaraś cāsmi
srotasām asmi jāhnavī
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 10.31
Of purifiers I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons I am Rama, of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Of all the aquatics the shark is one of the biggest and is certainly the most dangerous to man. Thus the shark represents Krishna.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Of moving or purifying agents, I am the wind. Among bearers of weapons, I am Parasurama. He is suitable as a vibhuti because he is an avesavatara, and because he is an outstanding jiva among those who have been given powers by the Lord. Padma Purana quoted in Bhagavatamrta says “O devi, I have recited to you the story of Parasurama, a saktyavesa avatara of the Lord.” Also it says, “He took birth as an empowered jiva.” The characteristics of the avesavatara are also mentioned in the Bhagavatamrta. “Where a jiva is filled with portions of jnana sakti or other sakti of the Lord, he is called avesavatara.” (Laghu Bhagavatamrta 1.4 .39, 1.4.38, 1.1.18) Among fish (jhasanam), I am the makara, a special type of fish. Among rivers (srotasam), I am the Ganga.
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
10.31 Of moving things, namely, of things whose nature is to move, I am the wind. Of those who bear weapons, I am Rama. Here the quality of bearing weapons is the Vibhuti, as no other sense is possible. Aditya etc., being individual selves, constitute attributes of the Lord, who is their Self as they constitute His body. Therefore they stand in the same position of the attribute as that of bearing weapons.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
Of purifiers Lord Krishna’s vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence is the wind. Of wielders of weapons His vibhuti is Parasurama who slew in battle all the ksatriyas or warriors class 21 times with His mighty axe. Among fish His vibhuti is a particular fish that can swallow a whole whale and lives in the deepest part of the ocean known as Makara and amongst all rivers, Lord Krishna’s vibhuti is jahnavi a name of the holy Ganga.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Being of the form of ananda or bliss, being completely spiritual of Himself, being the delighter of the people Lord Krishna’s vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence is known as Rama. In the Shandilya section it states: Of blissful form, unlimited, from whom the world revels is known as Rama. Ra and ama are the root and together as Rama mean exceedingly pleasing to all.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
Among purifiers Lord Krishna’s vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence is the swift moving wind. Among weapon wielding warriors His vibhuti is the valiant hero Rama who is a lila avatar or divine pastime incarnation of the Supreme Lord Krishna being His catur-vyuya expansion Vasudeva. One should never think that Rama born of King Dasaratha in the solar line of the exalted Raghu dynasty is non-different from the Supreme Lord Krishna except in rasa or mood. The word Rama may also be interpreted to be Parasurama the son of Jamadagni and Renuka, who was a sakyavesa avatar or empowered incarnation of Lord Krishna who slew all the ksatriyas 21 times with His mighty axe. Among rivers His vibhuti is jahnavi the daughter of the sage Jahnu known as the holy river Ganges.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
10.31 Pavatam, of the purifiers; I am pavanah, air. Sastra-bhrtam, among weilders of weapons, I am Rama, son of Dasaratha. Jhasanam, among fishes etc; I am the particular species of fish called makarah shark. I am jahnavi, Ganga; srotasam, among rivers, among streams of water.
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:
pavanah pavatam asmi
ramah sastra-bhrtam aham
jhasanam makaras casmi
srotasam asmi jahnavi
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
pavanaḥ — the wind; pavatām — of all that purifies; asmi — I am; rāmaḥ — Rāma; śastra-bhṛtām — of the carriers of weapons; aham — I am; jhaṣāṇām — of all fish; makaraḥ — the shark; ca — also; asmi — I am; srotasām — of flowing rivers; asmi — I am; jāhnavī — the river Ganges.
