Bhagavad Gita 10.35
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 35 of 42
बृहत्साम तथा साम्नां गायत्री छन्दसामहम् | मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहमृतूनां कुसुमाकरः ||३५||
bṛhat-sāma tathā sāmnāṃ gāyatrī chandasām aham | māsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣo'ham ṛtūnāṃ kusumākaraḥ || 35 ||
Among Sāma hymns, the Bṛhat-Sāman; among metres, Gāyatrī; among months, Mārgaśīrṣa; among seasons, spring.
Word by word (3)
- bṛhat-sāma tathā sāmnāṃ
- — Among the Sāma hymns, the Bṛhat-Sāman · bṛhat-sāma = the Bṛhat-Sāman (bṛhat = great, vast, large + sāman = a chant/melody of the Sāma Veda; Bṛhat-Sāman = 'the great chant/melody'; one of the most important and ancient of the Sāma Veda chants — associated with Indra and with cosmic power; among all the sāmans/chants of the Sāma Veda, the Bṛhat-Sāman is the most powerful and comprehensive). tathā = likewise, and. sāmnāṃ = among the Sāma hymns (genitive plural of sāman = a chant of the Sāma Veda; the Sāma Veda is entirely composed of these chanted melodies — verses from the Rig Veda set to specific musical patterns for ritual recitation; among the three/four Vedas, the Sāma was identified as the divine's vibhūti in V10.22). V22 gave the Sāma Veda as the most concentrated expression among the four Vedas; V35 now specifies: within the Sāma Veda's collection of chants, the Bṛhat-Sāman is the concentrated vibhūti. The specific within the general: V22 = Sāma among Vedas; V35 = Bṛhat-Sāman within Sāma.
- gāyatrī chandasām aham
- — Among metres I am the Gāyatrī · gāyatrī = the Gāyatrī (gāya = song + trī = protecting/crossing; Gāyatrī = 'the one who protects the singer' or 'the song that crosses over'; the Gāyatrī is the most sacred and ancient metre in Sanskrit — a 24-syllable metre arranged as 3 × 8 syllables; the famous Gāyatrī Mantra (Rig Veda 3.62.10) uses this metre: 'oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ / tat savitur vareṇyam / bhargo devasya dhīmahi / dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt' — the mantra to Savitṛ/the Sun asking for the illumination of the intellect; the Gāyatrī metre and mantra are considered the most sacred combination in the Vedic tradition; traditionally the Gāyatrī mantra is the first mantra taught to a Brahmin at his upanayana (sacred thread ceremony) — the first formal beginning of Vedic study). chandasāṃ = among metres (genitive plural of chandas = metre, Vedic metre — from √chand = to please, to move; chandas = 'the metre that moves/pleases'; the Vedāṅga called Chandas deals with the prosody of Vedic metres). Among all the metres (Triṣṭubh, Jagatī, Anuṣṭubh, etc.), the Gāyatrī is the vibhūti — the most sacred, most ancient, most directly connected to spiritual illumination.
- māsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣaḥ aham — ṛtūnāṃ kusumākaraḥ
- — Among months I am Mārgaśīrṣa; among seasons, the flowery season (spring) · māsānāṃ = among months (genitive plural of māsa = month — from √mās = to measure; māsa = 'the measurer, the month'). mārgaśīrṣaḥ = the month of Mārgaśīrṣa (Mārgaśīrṣa = the month from mid-November to mid-December in the Indian calendar, when the star Mṛgaśiras/Orion's head is prominent; SW commentary: 'month including parts of November and December'; this is the most auspicious and temperate month in the North Indian climate — cool, pleasant, the harvest season just complete, the air clear). aham = I. ṛtūnāṃ = among the seasons (genitive plural of ṛtu = season — from √ṛ = to go/flow; ṛtu = 'the flowing time, the season'; traditionally the six seasons in Indian climate: Spring/Vasanta, Summer/Grīṣma, Monsoon/Varṣā, Autumn/Śarada, Early Winter/Hemanta, Winter/Śiśira). kusumākaraḥ = the flowery season, Spring (kusuma = flower + ākara = mine/abundance; kusumākara = 'the mine of flowers, the spring season when flowers abound'; Spring/Vasanta = the season when the world is in full flower, the most celebrated of seasons in Sanskrit poetry and in the natural world). The season-vibhūti is spring (kusumākara = flower-mine) — not because summer is hotter or monsoon more dramatic, but because spring is the season of full flourishing, renewal, and beauty — the most concentrated expression of nature's joyful abundance.
Among the Sāma hymns I am the Bṛhat-Sāman; among metres, the Gāyatrī; among months, Mārgaśīrṣa; and among seasons, the flowering spring.
A modern analogy
Naming spring (kusumākara, the mine of flowers) as the season-expression parallels what we know in modern chronobiology and positive psychology: spring's longer days, warmer temperatures, and proliferating biological activity trigger measurable increases in serotonin, motivation, and creativity in human beings. Spring is where the divine's quality of renewal and flourishing is biologically most concentrated in the northern hemisphere. This verse aligns with neuroscience: spring IS the season where vitality (the divine's abundance-quality) is most expressed in living organisms.
What it does NOT mean
Naming the month of Mārgaśīrṣa as a divine expression is not saying other months are less sacred or that the divine is absent in summer or monsoon. The Gita has already said that it speaks of these manifestations by prominence — naming the most prominent examples, not listing exhaustively. Mārgaśīrṣa is the MOST CONCENTRATED divine expression in the domain of months — pleasant climate, post-harvest abundance, clear skies, the beginning of the sacred pilgrimage season. Every month, seen with recognition, is a divine expression — Mārgaśīrṣa is the concentrated doorway.
Take with you
- The Gāyatrī (the most sacred metre) as a daily practice: the Gāyatrī mantra (Rig Veda 3.62.10) is one of the most widely practiced daily mantras in the Indian tradition. It can be used as a morning practice: 'oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ / tat savitur vareṇyam / bhargo devasya dhīmahi / dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt' — 'May we attain the illuminating glory of the divine Sun — may it stimulate our intellects.' This verse's Gāyatrī-expression: the mantra that invites the divine's illuminating quality into the intellect (dhī = intellect). This is the most accessible Vedic mantra-practice grounded in this verse's authority.
- Spring (kusumākara) as an annual renewal practice: each spring (regardless of hemisphere), use the season's energy of renewal to identify one area of life where you want to plant new intentions. Just as spring's abundance (kusuma = flowers) is not forced but naturally emerges from what was prepared in winter, the best spring intentions are those that have been quietly composting through winter. What has been gestating? What wants to flower now? This is the spring-practice: aligning personal renewal with the season's divine expression.
- The Bṛhat-Sāman as an invitation to know the great chants: if you work with chanting or sound practices, this verse points specifically to the Bṛhat-Sāman as where the divine is most concentrated among the Sāma chants. Even a brief exposure (recordings of Bṛhat-Sāman are available) to this ancient chant connects you to the expression this verse identifies. You do not need to understand Sanskrit — the sound itself carries the prominence the divine recognizes.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Of Samas also I am the Brihat-Sama, of metres Gayatri am I; of months I am Margashirsha, of seasons the flowery season. [4]
Among the hymns of the Samaveda I am Brihat Saman, and the Gayatri among metres; among months I am the month Margashirsha, and of seasons spring called Kusumakra, the time of flowers. [6]
Of Vedic hymns the Vrihatsam, of metres Gayatri, / Of months the Margasirsha, of all the seasons three / The flower-wreathed Spring [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Among Vedas I am Sāma Veda; among gods, Indra; among senses, the mind; in living beings, consciousness.
Uttering OM — the single syllable of Brahman — departing while meditating on Me, one reaches the highest goal.
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
Verse 35 of 42 · back to Chapter 10