Bhagavad Gita 10.36
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 36 of 42
द्यूतं छलयतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् | जयोऽस्मि व्यवसायोऽस्मि सत्त्वं सत्त्ववतामहम् ||३६||
dyūtaṃ chalayatām asmi tejas tejasvinām aham | jayo'smi vyavasāyo'smi sattvaṃ sattvavatām aham || 36 ||
I am the gambling of the fraudulent and the power of the powerful; victory, effort, and the sattva of the sattvika.
Word by word (3)
- dyūtaṃ chalayatām asmi
- — Among the fraudulent/deceivers I am gambling · dyūtaṃ = gambling (dyūta = gambling, dice-play — from √dyut = to shine/gamble; dyūta = 'the shining game, the game of dice'; the dice game that triggers the Mahābhārata's central catastrophe — Yudhiṣṭhira loses his kingdom, his brothers, and Draupadī in a rigged dice game with Śakuni). chalayatāṃ = among deceivers/frauds (genitive plural of chalayat = one who deceives — from chala = deceit, fraud, guile; chalayatāṃ = 'among those who use guile/deception'). asmi = I am. Among all the activities that involve guile and strategy-through-deception, the divine's vibhūti is specifically dyūta (gambling). SW: 'I am the gambling of the fraudulent.' This is the most philosophically provocative vibhūti in the entire catalogue: the divine claims the dice game — the very event that caused the catastrophe the Gita exists to address — as a concentrated divine expression. V10.36's dyūta vibhūti says: even in the domain of the fraudulent and the scheming, the divine is most concentrated in the most skillfully strategic manifestation. The dice game requires complete present-moment awareness, strategic thinking, and courage — these are the divine qualities concentrated in dyūta.
- tejaḥ tejasvinām aham
- — I am the power/brilliance of the powerful · tejaḥ = brilliance, power, energy, radiance (tejas = 'the sharp/brilliant one' — from √tej = to sharpen; tejas = fiery energy, brilliance, power, dignity, aura; tejas is one of the five mahābhūtas-related concepts: the transforming fire-energy in all things). tejasvinām = of the powerful/brilliant (genitive plural of tejasvin = one who has tejas, 'the powerful/brilliant one'). aham = I. Among all the powerful and brilliant beings, the divine is the specific quality (tejas) that makes them powerful — the brilliant energy they radiate is itself the divine's concentrated expression. This pairs with V10.41's (upcoming) 'yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṃ śrīmad ūrjitam eva vā / tat tad evāvagaccha tvaṃ mama tejoṃśasambhavam' — wherever there is greatness, beauty, or power, understand that as arising from a fraction of My tejas. V10.36's tejas vibhūti is the close preview of V10.41's summary statement.
- jayaḥ asmi — vyavasāyaḥ asmi — sattvaṃ sattvavatām aham
- — I am victory; I am effort/resolve; I am the sattva of the sattvika · jayaḥ = victory (jaya = victory, triumph — from √ji = to conquer; jaya = 'the act of conquering'). asmi = I am. vyavasāyaḥ = resolve, determined effort, exertion (vyavasāya = 'firm determination, resolved effort' — from vi + ava + √so = to determine, to resolve; vyavasāya = the determination that is fixed and exerts itself toward the goal). asmi = I am. sattvaṃ = the quality of sattva (sattva = the mode of clarity, goodness, purity — the first of the three guṇas; sattvaṃ = 'the sattva quality, goodness'). sattvavatāṃ = of the sattvika beings (genitive plural of sattvatvat = one who possesses sattva; sattvavatāṃ = 'among those who have sattva quality'). aham = I. Three inner vibhūtis: jaya (victory = the concentrated achievement-quality), vyavasāya (determined exertion = the quality that sustains effort toward the goal), sattva (the quality of clarity and goodness in the clearest of beings). SW commentary note: 'I am victory of the victorious, I am the effort of those who make an effort.' These are the divine qualities expressed in human excellence: when someone wins through genuine effort and when someone embodies the sattva-quality most fully — in those expressions the divine is most concentrated.
I am the gambling of the cunning, and the splendour of the splendid; I am victory, I am resolve, and I am the goodness of the good.
A modern analogy
The three inner expressions this verse names — victory (jaya), determined effort (vyavasāya), and clarity or goodness (sattva) — form a progression from external achievement (victory) to internal process (determination) to inner quality (sattva). Think of any person you genuinely admire for their excellence: their victories are the divine's victory-expression, their persistent effort through difficulty is the divine's determination-expression, and the quality of their character (their fundamental decency and clarity) is the divine's sattva-expression. All three are present in genuine excellence.
What it does NOT mean
Naming the gambling of the fraudulent is NOT the Gita endorsing gambling, deception, or the Mahābhārata dice-game as morally good. The Gita has already said it names these manifestations by prominence — by the prominence of the essential quality of each category. Among the domain of guile and strategic play, the dice game is the most concentrated expression of its essential quality — complete present-moment awareness, strategy under uncertainty, nerve. This verse says the divine is concentrated there — not that gambling is virtuous. The divine is present even in morally complex domains, concentrated in their most essential quality.
Take with you
- Determined effort and resolve (vyavasāya) is the most actionable inner expression: vyavasāya is the quality that distinguishes those who finish from those who start. In your most important current project, identify the specific recurring moment when you typically lose your resolve (when you put down the work before the session is complete). That moment is where the divine's vyavasāya-expression is being tested. Name it. Pre-decide what you will do instead of stopping in that moment. This pre-decision IS the vyavasāya.
- The clarity of the clearest (sattva) as a quality-compass: sattva (clarity, goodness, truth) is the quality of the highest inner state. After any significant decision or action, ask: 'Did I act from sattva (clarity, honesty, genuine consideration of all involved), or from rajas (reactive ambition, competitiveness), or tamas (avoidance, inertia)?' The sattva-expression is present when the action arises from clear seeing and genuine care. This quality-check is the sattva-practice.
- Power and brilliance (tejas) as recognition: wherever you encounter a person of genuine power and brilliance — a great teacher, an exceptional leader, an outstanding artist — recognize that the brilliance they radiate is the divine's expression flowing through them. This recognition shifts your experience of excellence from envy or awe to reverence: you are encountering the divine. The Gita will soon make this explicit, declaring that whatever being has excellence, prosperity, or power is born from a fragment of the divine's splendor.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
I am the gambling of the fraudulent, I am the power of the powerful; I am victory, I am effort, I am Sattva of the Sattvika. [4]
Of those things which deceive I am the dice, and splendor itself among splendid things. I am victory, I am perseverance, and the goodness of the good. [6]
in dicer's-play the conquering Double-Eight; / The splendour of the splendid, and the greatness of the great, / Victory I am, and Action! and the goodness of the good [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Whatever being has excellence, prosperity, or power — know it as born from a fragment of My splendor.
The resolved mind is one. The unresolved mind branches endlessly — and arrives nowhere.
Darkness, inertness, heedlessness, and delusion arise — know that tamas is predominant.
All beings arise from these two natures as their womb — and I am the origin and dissolution of the entire universe.
Action arises from Brahman, Brahman from the Imperishable. The all-pervading ultimate is present in every act of yajna.
Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and infamy — these varied states arise from Me alone.
Verse 36 of 42 · back to Chapter 10