BG 10.27 — Vibhūti-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 10.27Chapter 10 · Vibhūti-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

उच्चैःश्रवसमश्वानां विद्धि माममृतोद्भवम् ।

ऐरावतं गजेन्द्राणां नराणां च नराधिपम् ॥

uccaiḥśravasam aśvānāṃ viddhi mām amṛtodbhavam

airāvataṃ gajendrāṇāṃ narāṇāṃ ca narādhipam

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

meaning

Among horses I am Uccaiḥśravas, born of the nectar-churning; among elephant lords, Airāvata; among humans, the king.

Bhāṣyakāra purports

Śaṅkaraadvaita
Among horses, know me as Uccaiḥśravas (uccaiḥśravas), born from the churning that brought forth the nectar of immortality (amṛtodbbhava). Among the lords of elephants, know me as Airāvata (airāvata), offspring of Irāvatī. Among humans, know me as the king (narādhipa) — the sovereign among men.
Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita
Know me as Uccaiḥśravas, who arose from the churning of the nectar-ocean, foremost among all horses. Know me likewise as Airāvata, also born of that same amṛta-churning, foremost among all elephant-lords. And among humans, know me as the king.
Madhvadvaita
The verse falls within Madhva's combined commentary on 10.26–10.27. There Madhva pivots to Kapila, the ṛṣi who is Hari himself in the form of bliss-nature (sukharūpa) who sustains and dissolves the world — citing Chāndogya Upaniṣad ('prāṇo brahma, kaṃ brahma, khaṃ brahma') and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad to ground Kapila's identity. The specific identifications of Uccaiḥśravas and Airāvata are subsumed under the overarching thesis: Hari alone is the source of all preeminence.
Vallabhaśuddhādvaita
Uccaiḥśravas is the horse whose birth is from nectar itself — understand him as having seven fiery mouths, the aśva (aśva) born by nectar's emergence. He is Bhagavān's vibhūti as a sport-instrument in divine service (bhagavat-sevāyāṃ krīḍopayogitā). Similarly Airāvata, who was consecrated by that nectar-churning — both are to be contemplated (cintanīya). The hierarchy of preeminence is by Bhagavān's own sovereign will (tāratamyabheda aicchika), since there is but one speaker.
Śrīdharabhakti
Know me as Uccaiḥśravas — the horse named 'high-eared' (uccaiḥśravasa) that arose from the churning of the ocean of milk (kṣīrābdhi-mathana) undertaken for the sake of nectar (amṛtārtha). This 'amṛtodbbhava' (born from nectar-churning) applies equally to Airāvata among elephant-lords. Among humans, know me as the king (narādhipa).
Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti
Among horses, know me as Uccaiḥśravas, the horse born of the nectar-churning (amṛta-mathanodbhava). Among the lords of elephants, know me as Airāvata, likewise born of that nectar-churning. And among humans, know me as the king (narādhipa) — this is to be understood as supplied (anuṣajyate).

ekras · bhāṣya

Among horses, Uchchaihshravas — born from the churning of the amrita; among elephant-lords, Airavata; among humans, the king. Three picks; each amrita-udbhava in its own way: Uchchaihshravas literally born of the churning, Airavata born from the same source, the king representing humanity's highest.

Shankara reads each precisely. The horse, the elephant, and the man each have their representative chief; Krishna names himself in each.

Madhusudana reads the picks in their churning-genesis: Uchchaihshravas and Airavata both emerged from the samudra-manthana, the celestial origin point. The naradhipa — the king — is humanity's representative chief.

Ramanuja reads each as Bhagavan's sharira-mode at the head of its class.

Madhva keeps the bheda-frame: each is paratantra; the recognition channels through the chief.

Vallabha reads through pushti-marga: each chief is the prasada's most concentrated channel in its class.

Shridhara reads cleanly: three more chiefs, three more anchors.

Context

where

Chapter 10 · Vibhūti-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 10.26

Among all trees I am the sacred fig; among divine seers, Nārada; among the gandharvas, Citraratha; and among the perfected ones, the sage Kapila.

What's going on

Among horses I am Uccaiḥśravas, born of the nectar-churning; among elephant lords, Airāvata; among humans, the king.

Sūtras through this verse (21)

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)between

10.21Highest of each kind.───→here10.27───→10.39No exception outside Me.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned alonebetween

10.11I dispel the dark of unknowing for them.───→here10.27───→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.───→here10.27───→11.1Instruction yields, experience opens up.

show all 21

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesbetween · v2

9.29Equal to all───→here10.27───→10.36Sattva of the strong

RāmānujaclassicalC

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

10.1His glory becomes the chapter's evidence.───→here10.27───→11.1The aiśvarya-delusion now to be removed.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionbetween

10.10I give the buddhi-yoga to those who love.───→here10.27───→11.54Undivided love beholds it.

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminbetween

10.21Highest of every kind.───→here10.27───→10.39No exception is possible.

Ekrasmodernforgiveness

Forgivenessapproach · other

───→here10.27───→12.13Friendly, compassionate

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourexit · v2

8.12Om at the close───→here10.27───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayexit

9.32Women, śūdras, all, also reach the goal.───→here10.27───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingexit

8.7Without a clean mind, steady remembrance fails.───→here10.27───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalK

Death-memory as the test of daily habitexit

8.14Remembrance comes only from constant daily practice.───→here10.27───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherbetween

10.1Royal knowledge, royal secret, Kāśirāja.───→here10.27───→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.───→here10.27───→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.───→here10.27───→13.17The Knowable lives as the inner light.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here10.27───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingbetween

9.13The great know Me as beginning of beings.───→here10.27───→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.───→here10.27───→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.───→here10.27───→11.55Grace-soul acts only when the Lord wills.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalI

Anugraha: grace as the active powerapproach

───→here10.27───→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 ───→here10.27───→

Śabda · lemmas (12 unique · 12 occurrences)

विद्धि √vid — to know; to find (verbal root) · present imperative 2nd person singular verb · also at 2.17, 3.15, 3.32, 4.13, 4.14, 4.32 +16
उच्चैःश्रवसम् uccaiḥśravas — Uccaiḥśravas (Indra's celestial horse, 'high-eared') · accusative masculine singular noun

show all 12

अश्वानाम् aśva — horse · genitive masculine plural noun
माम् mad — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · accusative singular noun
अमृत amṛta — immortal, the deathless, nectar (a- + mṛta past-pple. 'died', from √mṛ) · compound
उद्भवम् udbhava — origin, arising (ud- + bhava, from √bhū) · accusative masculine singular noun
ऐरावतम् airāvata — Airāvata (Indra's celestial elephant) · accusative masculine singular noun
गज gaja — elephant · compound
इन्द्राणाम् indra — Indra (king of the gods) · genitive masculine plural noun
नराणाम् nara — man, human · genitive masculine plural noun
च ca — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
नराधिपम् narādhipa — king, lord of men (nara + adhipa) · accusative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01Why does the Gītā list kings, horses, and elephants rather than purely spiritual beings as vibhūtis — what does the inclusion of royal-political categories reveal about the text's theory of sovereignty?
02Both Uccaiḥśravas and Airāvata arise from the same amṛta-churning: what is the significance of cosmic origin-event as the basis of preeminence, rather than intrinsic species-nature?

show all 7

03How does Rāmānuja's explicit extension of 'amṛtodbbhava' to Airāvata (absent in Śaṅkara's terse gloss) reflect each school's deeper commitment — grammatical minimalism vs. devotional fullness?
04The human category yields only one vibhūti here — the king: what does this imply about the Gītā's anthropology and its understanding of what is 'most itself' in the human domain?
05Madhva's bhāṣya pivots away to Kapila rather than dwelling on horse and elephant: what hermeneutical principle justifies treating a combined 10.26–10.27 unit as a single theological statement about Hari?
06If every category of being has a sovereign exemplar through whom Bhagavān is to be known, what is the epistemological discipline implied — and can it be practiced without mythological literacy?
07Vallabha's 'tāratamyabheda aicchika' (hierarchy by sovereign will) — how does divine voluntarism in ranking vibhūtis differ from the Advaita view that all preeminence is non-different from Brahman?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you encounter someone or something that is genuinely, unmistakably excellent in its domain — a surgeon of extraordinary precision, a river in full flood — pause and recognize that the excellence itself is Brahman's self-disclosure. Do not merely admire the person; see through them to the one ground. This is not flattery; it is a contemplative practice of seeing the aśvarāja in every arena.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Serve the excellent with full recognition that excellence is Bhagavān's own quality (guṇa) expressed in a real body. In a workplace, this means: when you defer to genuine mastery — in a craftsperson, a physician, a leader — you are performing kainkarya (service) to Bhagavān manifested there. The deference is not social convention; it is devotional act.

show all 6

Dvaita

Acknowledge that the most accomplished person in any field is accomplished only by Hari's grace, not by autonomous excellence. This cuts both pride (in oneself) and idolatry (in another). When you meet a king or a master, recognize Hari's sovereign gift in them — but do not confuse the vessel with the source. Gratitude flows to Hari, not to the instrument.

Śuddhādvaita

Contemplate Kṛṣṇa's delight in excellence. When you see a thoroughbred horse, a majestic elephant, a just ruler — these are Kṛṣṇa's own play-instruments (krīḍopayogitā). Let admiration of the excellent become a doorway into the joy Kṛṣṇa takes in his own creation. This is Puṣṭi-mārga's gift: wonder at the world as Kṛṣṇa's līlā.

Bhakti

Build the habit of tracing excellence back to its cosmic origin. Uccaiḥśravas did not emerge from random chance — he was born at the great churning, as was Airāvata, as was nectar itself. When you encounter something magnificent, ask: what churning produced this? What long labor, what convergence of conditions? This is the bhakta's historiography of beauty.

Advaita-Bhakti

Sit with the paradox that the very best in any domain — the finest horse, the sovereign king — is simultaneously a finite, replaceable being AND a window into the infinite. Madhusūdana's synthesis asks you to hold both without collapsing either. Practice this in relationships: honor the person fully (Kṛṣṇa-bhakti), and simultaneously see beyond the person to the non-dual ground (Advaita). Neither dissolve the person nor cling to them.

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 27: Krishna to Arjuna — Vibhūti-Yoga

Bhāṣyakāra purports