Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 24 (BG 10.24) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

Among priests, I am Brihaspati, the lord of the planet Jupiter, whom the Rigveda calls Brahmanaspati—a name that itself declares his station among the celestial beings. He is revered as the spiritual teacher of the gods themselves. Among commanders of armies, I am Skanda, also known as Kartikeya, the son of Lord Shiva. His mount is the peacock, and he bears the spear in his hand. Among bodies of water, I am the ocean. In all these examples, a profound truth emerges: the Divine reveals not only His transcendent and all-pervading form, but also His immanent and all-encompassing nature. Consider the examples given in this very verse. The waters of the Ganges bear no apparent connection to the waters of the sea. The Yamuna, the Godavari, the Narmada, the Indus, the Kaveri, the Nile, the Thames, the Amazon—the waters of the world's various lakes, the waters of village ponds, and the waters of irrigation channels appear, individually and independently, to have no relation to that ocean which embraces the world. And yet it is an undeniable truth that without this vast ocean, all these rivers and reservoirs would have long since dried up. Similarly, moving creatures and stationary objects appear to possess their own independent existence, seemingly unrelated to the infinite ocean of Truth—yet the Divine makes clear that without this Truth, the visible world would have ceased to exist long ago. Expanding upon this very thought, He continues...