BG 10.25 — Vibhūti-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 10.25Chapter 10 · Vibhūti-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

महर्षीणां भृगुरहं गिरामस्म्येकमक्षरम् ।

यज्ञानां जपयज्ञो ऽस्मि स्थावराणां हिमालयः ॥

maharṣīṇāṃ bhṛgur ahaṃ girām asmy ekam akṣaram

yajñānāṃ japa-yajño 'smi sthāvarāṇāṃ himālayaḥ

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Among the great seers I am Bhṛgu; among words, the one imperishable syllable *Om*; among sacrifices, the quiet repetition of the name; among the unmoving, the Himalayas.

ekras · bhāṣya

Among the maha-rishis, Bhrigu; among words, the single akshara — Om; among yajnas, the japa-yajna; among the unmoving, the Himalayas. The third pick is the verse's quiet center. Among yajnas, the silent repetition of the name is the highest.

Shankara reads each pick precisely. Among the maha-rishis — the great seers — Bhrigu, the chief. Among words, the single imperishable syllable: Om. Among yajnas, the japa-yajna — the soft repetition of the name — which involves no external instrument and reaches Krishna directly. Among sthavaras — the unmoving things — the Himalayas, the highest range. The japa-yajna pick is doctrinally significant: of all yajnas Krishna names this one as himself, signaling the supremacy of the inner offering over the elaborate ritual.

Madhusudana reads the japa-yajna pick as confirming the chapter's bhakti-direction. The trayi-yajnas of ch9 were bounded; the japa-yajna named here is the operating instrument of the bhakta's continuous practice.

Krishna identifying himself with the japa-yajna is the chapter's structural statement that the inner repetition is supreme among offerings.

Ramanuja reads each pick as Bhagavan's sharira-mode at the chief locus of its class. Bhrigu among the seers, Om among the aksharas, japa among the yajnas, Himalayas among the unmoving — each is the locus where Krishna's vibhuti is most concentrated.

Madhva reads with the bheda-frame: each chief is paratantra; the japa-yajna is the most direct because it requires no external instrument that the eternally distinct jiva might mistake for autonomous.

Vallabha reads through pushti-marga: japa-yajna is the bhakta's natural prasada-channel; the verse names what the bhakta already does.

Shridhara reads cleanly: four chiefs; the japa-yajna pick is the chapter's most operative anchor for the bhakta's daily practice.

Context

where

Chapter 10 · Vibhūti-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 10.24

Among priests I am Bṛhaspati, among army commanders I am Skanda, and among bodies of water I am the ocean.

What's going on

Among the great seers I am Bhṛgu; among words, the one imperishable syllable Om; among sacrifices, the quiet repetition of the name; among the unmoving, the Himalayas.

Sūtras through this verse (21)

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)between

10.21Highest of each kind.───→here10.25───→10.39No exception outside Me.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned alonebetween

10.11I dispel the dark of unknowing for them.───→here10.25───→18.65By My grace, you reach Me through what is given.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalC

Vision is the structural centerbetween

10.18Even more detail asked, Abhinava already framed.───→here10.25───→11.1Instruction yields, experience opens up.

show all 21

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesbetween · v2

9.29Equal to all───→here10.25───→10.36Sattva of the strong

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)between

10.1His glory becomes the chapter's evidence.───→here10.25───→11.1The aiśvarya-delusion now to be removed.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionbetween

10.10I give the buddhi-yoga to those who love.───→here10.25───→11.54Undivided love beholds it.

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminbetween

10.21Highest of every kind.───→here10.25───→10.39No exception is possible.

Ekrasmodernforgiveness

Forgivenessapproach · other

───→here10.25───→12.13Friendly, compassionate

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourexit · v2

8.12Om at the close───→here10.25───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayexit

9.32Women, śūdras, all, also reach the goal.───→here10.25───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingexit

8.7Without a clean mind, steady remembrance fails.───→here10.25───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalK

Death-memory as the test of daily habitexit

8.14Remembrance comes only from constant daily practice.───→here10.25───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherbetween

10.1Royal knowledge, royal secret, Kāśirāja.───→here10.25───→11.1I worship the unborn, the self-luminous teacher.

MadhusūdanaclassicalH

Krishna with form is the ground beneath formless Brahmanbetween

10.8From Me everything flows; wise ones know this and worship.───→here10.25───→11.55The crystal verse names the saguṇa in absolute form.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartbetween

10.20I am the Self in every heart.───→here10.25───→13.17The Knowable lives as the inner light.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here10.25───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingbetween

9.13The great know Me as beginning of beings.───→here10.25───→10.42With one part I pervade this whole world, and stand.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentbetween

10.20I am the Self seated in every heart.───→here10.25───→13.2'Cāpi' marks two — not one identity.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

10.14Faith comes only from the Lord's own giving.───→here10.25───→11.55Grace-soul acts only when the Lord wills.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalI

Anugraha: grace as the active powerapproach

───→here10.25───→11.8The eye is given; seeing is grace.

Gauravmodernmemorial_pastoral

Memorial Pastoralexit

8.6'Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam.' Whatever state of being one remembers at the last ───→here10.25───→

Śabda · lemmas (12 unique · 14 occurrences)

गिराम् gir — speech, voice, hymn · genitive feminine plural noun
अक्षरम् akṣara — imperishable (a- + kṣara, from √kṣar 'flow/perish'); syllable; the Imperishable (Brahman) · nominative neuter singular noun · also at 12.1, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5

show all 12

अस्मि √as ×2 — to be (verbal root) · present indicative 1st person singular verb
यज्ञानाम्·यज्ञः yajña ×2 — sacrifice, worship, ritual offering · genitive masculine plural noun / nominative masculine singular noun
महा mahat — great, large; the cosmic intellect (mahattattva) · compound
ऋषीणाम् ṛṣi — seer, sage · genitive masculine plural noun
भृगुः bhṛgu — Bhṛgu (a great seer) · nominative masculine singular noun
अहम् mad — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · nominative singular noun
एकम् eka — one, alone, single · nominative neuter singular noun
जप japa — muttered prayer, repetition of mantra · compound
स्थावराणाम् sthāvara — immobile, stationary (e.g., plants) · genitive masculine plural noun
हिमालयः himālaya — the Himālayan mountains (abode of snow) · nominative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01Why does Kṛṣṇa name japa-yajña as the supreme sacrifice — what is it about silent repetition that ranks above the great śrauta rites requiring fire, priest, and soma?
02Bhṛgu is the ṛṣi who struck Viṣṇu's chest; how does a sage famous for testing the gods become the emblem of divine eminence — what does that story reveal about what Kṛṣṇa prizes in the mahā-ṛṣis?

show all 7

03Oṃ is described as 'ekam akṣaram' — the one imperishable syllable. What makes a syllable imperishable, and what is lost when sacred sound is reduced to a translation or a concept?
04The Himālaya is stationary (sthāvara) yet named among vibhūtis. What does the elevation of absolute stillness — refusal to move — teach about the relationship between action and presence in the Gītā's ethics?
05Madhusūdana reads japa-yajña as 'atyanta-śodhaka' — the supreme purifier — because it is free from harm. What does a practice being harmless have to do with its spiritual power? Is purity and non-violence the same claim?
06The six schools agree Oṃ is the supreme word but disagree on what it names — formless Brahman, the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa's own nature, or the seed of the whole creation. Can the same syllable hold all these meanings simultaneously, and if so, what does that say about language itself?
07Kṛṣṇa lists himself as the best among classes — not the class itself. What is the relationship between a class (all sacrifices, all mountains) and its supreme instance, and why does knowing the best help Arjuna know Kṛṣṇa?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you sit for meditation and feel the mind fragmenting across many objects, return to a single, unmodified focal point — your breath as Oṃ, pure awareness before content. The Himālaya-stillness Kṛṣṇa claims is available as the witness-self in every moment; practice resting there for ten breaths before starting complex work, letting multiplicity return from that stable ground rather than chasing it.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Before a meeting where you must speak persuasively, recall that every word you will use is Bhagavān's own self-expression — meaning-bearing (arthābhidhāyin) by his will. Bring this awareness into your speech: let words serve what is true rather than what is tactical. After the meeting, offer a brief mental japa as kainkarya — a few repetitions of a name you hold dear — acknowledging that the power of communication was his all along.

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Dvaita

Identify the one practice in your weekly routine where you feel most clearly that you are NOT the doer — where Hari's presence does the work through you. Protect that practice as your 'japa-yajña' equivalent: the activity that most reduces your sense of independent agency and most naturally generates gratitude. Schedule it when you are most tempted toward self-congratulation.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's reading says Bhṛgu generates brahma-ānanda in others. Ask: who in your life generates that quality of delight and clarity in you — the sense that reality is more vivid around them? That person is a vibhūti. Let your interactions with them become a form of smaraṇa (remembrance of Kṛṣṇa) rather than mere social contact. And notice: when you generate that quality for others, you are momentarily the vibhūti.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's teaching is that japa is supreme among śrauta and smārta sacrifices. Begin a 21-day practice of ten minutes of japa before your first screen interaction of the day. The constraint: no phone, no news, no email until the japa is complete. Track not how you feel during japa but whether your first hour of work afterward is qualitatively different — more present, less reactive.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's key word is 'atyanta-śodhaka' — japa purifies supremely because it harms nothing. Apply this diagnostic to one decision you are currently deferring: of the available options, which one causes least harm across all parties including yourself? Choosing the least harmful path is not weakness — it is alignment with the japa-principle, the quietly powerful option that accumulates without friction.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 10, Verse 25: Krishna to Arjuna — Vibhūti-Yoga