Sanskrit
अश्वत्थः सर्ववृक्षाणां देवर्षीणां च नारदः । गन्धर्वाणां चित्ररथः सिद्धानां कपिलो मुनिः ॥ २६ ॥
aśvatthaḥ sarvavṛkṣāṇāṃ devarṣīṇāṃ ca nāradaḥ gandharvāṇāṃ citrarathaḥ siddhānāṃ kapilo muniḥ
Translation
Asvattha of all tree; and of divine Rishis Nârada; of Gandharvas Chitraratha; of the perfected the Muni Kapila.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Narada appears here among the divine Rishis, having already been named in verse 13 as one of the authorities Arjuna cites for trusting Krishna. The repetition ties Arjuna’s earlier testimony back into Krishna’s own self-description — Narada is both a witness Arjuna trusts and an example Krishna chooses. Nārada is now both the transmitter Arjuna cited at BG 10.13 and the example Krishna picks — witness and vibhūti at once. The aśvattha tree recurs, inverted, as the whole cosmos at BG 15.1.
Study deeper
Word by word
- aśvatthaḥ sarvavṛkṣāṇāṃअश्वत्थः सर्ववृक्षाणां
- among all trees, the aśvattha (aśvatthaḥ + sarva-vṛkṣāṇām)
- devarṣīṇāṃ ca nāradaḥदेवर्षीणां च नारदः
- and among divine sages, Nārada (deva-ṛṣīṇām + ca + nāradaḥ)
- gandharvāṇāṃ citrarathaḥगन्धर्वाणां चित्ररथः
- among Gandharvas, Citraratha (gandharvāṇām + citrarathaḥ)
- siddhānāṃ kapilo muniḥसिद्धानां कपिलो मुनिः
- among the perfected, the sage Kapila (siddhānām + kapilaḥ + muniḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The aśvattha named here as merely the best example among trees returns in Chapter 15 as the central image for the whole of manifest existence — an inverted tree with roots above. Chapter 10 plants it as one entry in a list; Chapter 15 pulls it out and makes it carry the entire cosmos. The vibhuti list isn’t only naming best examples, it’s occasionally previewing images the text hasn’t finished with yet.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- Notice when a small detail mentioned once in your own life quietly reappears later carrying much more weight than it first seemed to — a passing habit, place, or object planted early is worth tracking, not dismissing as trivial the first time it shows up.
Professional
- A tool or decision mentioned only in passing early in a project sometimes becomes central architecture later — track offhand mentions in planning discussions rather than assuming a first, casual reference means the thing itself is minor.
Family & Social
- A small habit or object mentioned once in passing in family life sometimes becomes a central shared symbol later — pay attention to what recurs across years rather than only to what gets said with emphasis in the moment.
Ask yourself
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