Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
10.37 वृष्णीनाम among the Vrishnis? वासुदेवः Vaasudeva? अस्मि (I) am? पाण्डवानाम् among the Pandavas? धनञ्जयः Dhananjaya? मुनीनाम् among the sages? अपि also? अहम् I? व्यासः Vyasa? कवीनाम् among poets? उशनाः Usanas? कविः the poet.Commentary Vrishnis are Yadavas or the descendants of Yadu. I am the foremost among them.Usanas is Sukracharya? the preceptor of the demons.
Swami Chinmayananda
# BG 10.37
Among the Vrishnis, I am Vasudeva. Among the Pandavas, I am Dhananjaya. Among the sages, I am Vyasa. Among the poets, I am Ushana.
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**The Meaning:**
Among the Vrishni dynasty—descended from Yadu, the ancestor of the Yadavas—I am Vasudeva. Vasudeva was born into this noble lineage and married Devaki, sister of the cruel Kansa of Mathura. Their son was Sri Krishna. Because he was the son of Vasudeva, he became renowned by that name. Just as Sri Krishna's exploits kept the Yadava and Vrishni clans alive in human memory as blessed and celebrated, so too among the Pandavas stood Dhananjaya, Arjuna—without whom the Pandavas could have achieved nothing. Dhananjaya means "the conqueror of wealth," a title earned through his mighty deeds.
Among the sages, I am Vyasa. Since Vyasa himself was the author of the Gita, let none regard this as self-praise. Vyasa is a title, a name that was adopted. In that age, a revolutionary new literary style emerged in philosophical and spiritual writing, and it became known by the name Vyasa—the word itself became the marker of this method. This innovation was transformative: until then, philosophical literature had been composed in the form of concise mantras and sutras. With the creation of the Puranas came a new approach—one designed to explain principles in expansive detail, with fundamental truths repeated and emphasized throughout. This method was pioneered and developed by Krishna Dvaipayana, who took the name Vyasa. The word Vyasa means "expansion." Thus, when the Lord calls himself Vyasa among all sages, his meaning is this: among all contemplative beings, I am he who is the author of the incomparable and vast creation of the Puranas.
Among poets, I am Ushana. Ushana is another name for Shukra, celebrated in the Vedas. A poet is one who perceives the transcendent—an all-knowing seer. In the Upanishads, the word "poet" also means "seer of mantras"—one who, illumined by direct realization of the Self and free from even a trace of ego, proclaims the truths of their own experience. Such beings were called poets. In time, this original meaning faded, and the word came to denote merely one who composes verses. Yet true poets, beholding this magnificent and wondrous universe, rise above the mundane and enter the realm of their own spontaneous, radiant thoughts and feelings, singing forth poetry from the deepest chambers of their hearts. Here, the word "poet" is used in its original, supreme sense.
Thus does the Lord describe the expansion of his divine manifestations.
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.