Bhagavad Gita 7.8
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 8 of 30
रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः | प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ||८||
raso'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ | praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṃ nṛṣu || 8 ||
I am the taste in water, the radiance in sun and moon, OM in the Vedas, sound in ether, and vital power in beings.
Word by word (3)
- rasaḥ aham apsu kaunteya — prabhā asmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ
- — I am the taste in water, O son of Kuntī — I am the radiance in moon and sun · rasaḥ = taste, sapidity, the quality of water that makes it water-like (not flavor but the elemental quality of wetness/tastability — the essence of water). aham = I. apsu = in water (locative plural of ap — water). kaunteya = O son of Kuntī (Kuntī's son = Arjuna — affectionate maternal epithet). prabhā = radiance, light, luminosity (the light of celestial bodies). asmi = I am. śaśi = moon (śaśa = hare; śaśin = hare-marked = moon, since the moon's markings resemble a hare in Indian tradition). sūryayoḥ = sun (sūrya = sun); śaśi-sūryayoḥ = in moon and sun (dual genitive). V8 begins the 'I am' declarations (V8-12): instead of cosmological abstraction, Krishna now points to direct experience — the taste of water in your mouth, the light you see from the sun and moon. These familiar, everyday experiences are the Divine's presence in the aparā-prakṛti.
- praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu — śabdaḥ khe — pauruṣaṃ nṛṣu
- — I am OM in all the Vedas — sound in ether — virility/manhood in men · praṇava = OM (the sacred syllable, the original sound from which all manifestation arises — pra + nava = supremely new, or from pra + √nu = to reverberate, to sound forth). sarva-vedeṣu = in all the Vedas (sarva = all; vedeṣu = in the Vedas, locative plural). śabdaḥ = sound (the primordial quality of ether/ākāśa in Sāṃkhya physics — the only quality of ākāśa is sound). khe = in ether/space (kha = ākāśa — the fifth element; locative). pauruṣam = virility, vital power, the quality of being fully alive (from puruṣa = person/being; pauruṣa = what belongs to puruṣa, the vital force). nṛṣu = in men (nara = man/human; locative plural). The list continues: OM (the Vedas' essential sound), sound in ether (the elemental quality of space), vital power in beings.
- rasa / prabhā / praṇava / pauruṣa — the essence-in-thing teaching
- — Krishna as the essential quality of each element — the 'what makes it what it is' in everything experienced · V8-10's 'I am' declarations follow a consistent pattern: Krishna is not the external thing (water, sun, Vedas) but the essential quality that makes the thing what it is. Rasa is what makes water water. Prabhā is what makes the sun the sun. Praṇava is what makes the Vedas the Vedas. Pauruṣa is what makes a living being alive. This is the vijñāna that V2 promised: not abstract knowledge ABOUT the Divine, but direct recognition IN everyday experience. The practitioner who knows V8 doesn't need to visit a temple to encounter the Divine — they encounter the Divine every time they taste water, see sunlight, hear OM, or feel their own aliveness.
I am the taste in water, O son of Kuntī; the light in the moon and the sun; the sacred syllable Om in all the Vedas; the sound in space, and the courage in human beings.
A modern analogy
A musician who deeply loves music might say: 'I am the melody in the music, not the instrument itself.' The violin is wood and string; the melody is what makes it music. This verse's declarations work the same way: Krishna is the essential, animating quality in each thing — the melody, not the instrument.
What it does NOT mean
This verse does NOT say water IS Krishna or that the sun IS Krishna. It says the essential quality of each — what makes water water (its tastability/rasa), what makes the sun the sun (its radiance/prabhā) — is the Divine. The thing is the gem; the essential quality is the thread.
Take with you
- This verse is the Gita's teaching of seeing the Divine in ordinary experience. Every sip of water is an encounter with the Divine (rasa). Every sunrise is an encounter with the Divine (prabhā). The sacred syllable OM in Vedic chanting is the Divine. The feeling of being alive and capable (pauruṣa) is the Divine.
- The practice this verse implies: attend to the essential quality of ordinary experiences. When you drink water, attend to the rasa — the quality of wetness-tastability itself. When you see morning light, attend to the prabhā — the quality of luminosity itself. These attentions are the experiential wisdom that the chapter's opening promised.
- This list is not exhaustive — it is exemplary. These verses give examples; the later teaching that 'Vāsudeva is everything' is the complete statement. This verse teaches the practitioner to recognize the pattern — the Divine as the essential quality — so they can apply it everywhere.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
I am the taste in water, O Kaunteya, the radiance in moon and sun. I am the sacred syllable OM in all the Vedas, sound in ether, and manhood in men. [1]
I am the sapidity in water, O son of Kunti; I, the radiance in the moon and the sun; I am the Om in all the Vedas, sound in Akasha, and manhood in men. [4]
I am the taste in water, O Kaunteya, and the light in the moon and sun; I am the mystic syllable Om in all the Vedas, the sound in ether, manhood in men. [5]
I am the taste of water, O son of Kunti; I am the light of the sun and the moon; I am the syllable Om in all the Vedas, sound in the ether, and the virility of men. [6]
I am the Freshness of the water and the Light of heaven and earth, the Soul of man, the Sweetness of the sweetened grass, the Brilliance of bright things. [7]
I am the taste in water, O son of Kunti, and the light in the moon and sun; I am the syllable Om in all the Vedas, sound in space, and manhood in men. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Beyond Me there is nothing whatsoever — all this is strung in Me, as gems upon a thread.
I am the sacred fragrance in earth, the brilliance in fire, the life-force in all beings, and the austerity in ascetics.
Of the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu; among lights the radiant sun; among Maruts, Marīci; among stars, the moon.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Your body changed from childhood to age without 'you' dying — changing bodies is no different.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.
Verse 8 of 30 · back to Chapter 7