BG 10.36 — Vibhūti-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 10.36Chapter 10 · Vibhūti-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

द्यूतं छलयतामस्मि तेजस् तेजस्विनामहम् ।

जयो ऽस्मि व्यवसायो ऽस्मि सत्त्वं सत्त्ववतामहम् ॥

dyūtaṃ chalayatām asmi tejas tejasvinām aham

jayo 'smi vyavasāyo 'smi sattvaṃ sattvavatām aham

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

meaning

Among cheaters I am the game of dice; among the radiant I am their brilliance; among the victorious I am victory, among the resolute I am resolve, and among the pure I am their purity.

ekras · bhāṣya

Among cheaters, dyuta — gambling; among the radiant, the tejas; among the victorious, jaya; among the resolute, vyavasaya; among the pure, sattva. The verse opens with a startling pick: even gambling, the most apparent vice, is Krishna's vibhuti when it operates as the chief of its class.

Shankara reads dyuta precisely: among those who cheat — chhalayatam — the chief activity is the dice-game; Krishna names himself even there because as vibhuti the chief of any class is Krishna's. The verse pre-empts moral squeamishness: vibhuti operates wherever the class-chief stands, regardless of the moral valence of the activity. Then the higher picks: tejas in the brilliant, jaya in the victorious, vyavasaya in the resolute, sattva in the pure. Each is the operating chief of its respective class.

Madhusudana reads the dyuta pick as the verse's most striking instance of the vibhuti-principle: Krishna identifies himself with the chief activity of every class, and the moral coloring of the class does not determine whether the chief is or is not Krishna. The recognition is structural, not moral.

Ramanuja reads each as Bhagavan's sharira-mode in its operating function — and notes that even the dyuta, when it operates as the chief of cheating, is recognized within Bhagavan's vibhuti as the structural fact of that class.

Madhva reads on the bheda-frame: each is paratantra; the chief of every class channels recognition.

Vallabha reads through pushti-marga: each chief is prasada's structural channel.

Shridhara reads cleanly: five picks; dyuta as the surprising one, the rest as the operating chiefs of admirable classes.

Context

where

Chapter 10 · Vibhūti-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 10.35

Among the Sāman chants I am the Bṛhat-sāman, among metres the Gāyatrī, among months Mārgaśīrṣa, and among seasons I am spring.

What's going on

Among cheaters I am the game of dice; among the radiant I am their brilliance; among the victorious I am victory, among the resolute I am resolve, and among the pure I am their purity.

Sūtras through this verse (21)

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)between

10.21Highest of each kind.───→here10.36───→10.39No exception outside Me.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned alonebetween

10.11I dispel the dark of unknowing for them.───→here10.36───→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.───→here10.36───→11.1Instruction yields, experience opens up.

show all 21

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesstation · v2 · station 1/9

───→here10.36───→

RāmānujaclassicalC

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

10.1His glory becomes the chapter's evidence.───→here10.36───→11.1The aiśvarya-delusion now to be removed.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionbetween

10.10I give the buddhi-yoga to those who love.───→here10.36───→11.54Undivided love beholds it.

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminbetween

10.21Highest of every kind.───→here10.36───→10.39No exception is possible.

Ekrasmodernforgiveness

Forgivenessapproach · other

───→here10.36───→12.13Friendly, compassionate

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourexit · v2

8.12Om at the close───→here10.36───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayexit

9.32Women, śūdras, all, also reach the goal.───→here10.36───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingexit

8.7Without a clean mind, steady remembrance fails.───→here10.36───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalK

Death-memory as the test of daily habitexit

8.14Remembrance comes only from constant daily practice.───→here10.36───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherbetween

10.1Royal knowledge, royal secret, Kāśirāja.───→here10.36───→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.───→here10.36───→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.───→here10.36───→13.17The Knowable lives as the inner light.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here10.36───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingbetween

9.13The great know Me as beginning of beings.───→here10.36───→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.───→here10.36───→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.───→here10.36───→11.55Grace-soul acts only when the Lord wills.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalI

Anugraha: grace as the active powerapproach

───→here10.36───→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 ───→here10.36───→

Śabda · lemmas (10 unique · 13 occurrences)

अस्मि √as ×3 — to be (verbal root) · present indicative 1st person singular verb · also at 1.22, 7.10, 10.21, 10.22, 10.24, 10.28 +5
छलयताम् √chalay — to deceive, trick (denom. from chala) · genitive masculine plural present participle verb

show all 10

अहम् mad ×2 — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · nominative singular noun
द्यूतम् dyūta — gambling, dice-play · nominative neuter singular noun
तेजः tejas — splendor, brilliance, energy · nominative neuter singular noun
तेजस्विनाम् tejasvin — brilliant, energetic (tejas + -vin) · genitive masculine plural noun
जयः jaya — victory, conquest (from √ji) · nominative masculine singular noun
व्यवसायः vyavasāya — resolve, determination, settled intention (vi- + ava- + √so 'destroy/finish' — 'cutting through to a decision') · nominative masculine singular noun
सत्त्वम् sattva — purity, lightness (the first guṇa); being, essence · nominative neuter singular noun
सत्त्ववताम् sattvavat — (sattva + -vat: purity) · genitive masculine plural noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01Why does Kṛṣṇa claim dyūta (gambling — a morally contested activity) as a vibhūti alongside sattva? What does the inclusion of morally ambiguous excellences say about the nature of divine immanence?
02The five categories here (dyūta, tejas, jaya, vyavasāya, sattva) span deception, power, victory, effort, and virtue. Is there a structural logic to this sequence, or is it an intentional sampling across different registers of human striving?

show all 7

03Rāmānuja reads sattva as mahāmanastvaṃ (magnanimity) rather than the guṇa; Madhusūdana reads it as a fourfold functional result (dharma-jñāna-vairāgya-aiśvarya). What is at stake doctrinally in each gloss?
04Vallabha connects jaya specifically to Balarāma's satya-vāk verdict — a historical narrative anchor. How does grounding a vibhūti in a Purāṇic episode change what it means to 'see Kṛṣṇa' in that quality?
05Madhusūdana's tejas is apratihata-ājñatvaṃ — 'the condition whose authority nothing obstructs.' How does this reading relate to the Advaita claim that Brahman alone is without obstruction (niratiśaya)?
06The verse is embedded in the vibhūti-yoga discourse (BG 10). Is the function of vibhūti-enumeration cognitive (training perception), devotional (arousing bhakti), or ontological (disclosing structure) — and does each school answer this differently?
07Śrīdhara's gloss adds 'anyonya-vañcana-parāṇām' (those dedicated to mutual deception) as the context for dyūta. Does this make gambling a mirror of saṃsāra's mutual deception, with Kṛṣṇa as its presiding reality?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you find yourself drawn into competitive or even deceptive situations, recognize that the sharp intelligence driving you — the tejas of the strategist — is itself Brahman functioning through that form. This does not justify the action, but it dissolves the separate 'doer' who would either take credit or carry guilt. Practice viveka (discrimination) to see the essential quality without identifying with the role.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

When you witness mahāmanastvaṃ — genuine magnanimity or greatness of spirit — in a colleague, competitor, or adversary, see it as Bhagavān's own quality shining through that person. This transforms how you compete: you are not fighting another person but encountering Bhagavān in a different form. Let this recognition convert rivalry into a form of sevā (service).

show all 6

Dvaita

Any victory you achieve — in business, in argument, in creative work — is not yours to own. Hari lent you the śakti to win; return the jaya to him immediately in the form of offering, gratitude, or dedicated action. Hoarding a win as personal possession is precisely the delusion that perpetuates bondage. The winner who remembers Hari's ownership is free; the winner who claims it as his own adds a chain.

Śuddhādvaita

Even your competitive and playful impulses — your love of games, your desire to win, your ego-fire — are Kṛṣṇa's own līlā-rasa moving through you. Rather than suppressing them, redirect them: play the game as dharma-dyūta (righteous play), where the stakes are service to Kṛṣṇa rather than private gain. Balarāma's satya-vāk is the model: speak truly even in the heat of competition, and your jaya becomes Kṛṣṇa's jaya.

Bhakti

Vyavasāya as udyama — energetic, sustained industry — is the divine quality most available to an ordinary working person. When you bring full effort to your craft, when you do not slack off mid-project, you are manifesting a vibhūti of Kṛṣṇa. This elevates daily professional effort into something spiritually significant without requiring elaborate ritual: the effort itself is the presence.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's fourfold sattva-kārya — dharma, jñāna, vairāgya, aiśvarya — is a checklist for mature human functioning. When you notice these four operating together in your life (ethical clarity, genuine understanding, freedom from compulsion, capacity to act effectively), you are seeing Kṛṣṇa's sattva at work in you. Cultivate all four as a unit: any one in isolation becomes a parody — dharma without vairāgya becomes rigidity, jñāna without dharma becomes cleverness.

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 36: Krishna to Arjuna — Vibhūti-Yoga