Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 7, Verse 8

रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययो: |
प्रणव: सर्ववेदेषु शब्द: खे पौरुषं नृषु || 8||

raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣhu śhabdaḥ khe pauruṣhaṁ nṛiṣhu

rasaḥ—taste; aham—I; apsu—in water; kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti; prabhā—the radiance; asmi—I am; śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ—of the moon and the sun; praṇavaḥ—the sacred syllable Om; sarva—in all; vedeṣhu—Vedas; śhabdaḥ—sound; khe—in ether; pauruṣham—ability; nṛiṣhu—in humans

Translation

BG 7.8: I am the taste in water, O son of Kunti, and the radiance of the sun and the moon. I am the sacred syllable Om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether, and the ability in humans.

Commentary

Shree Krishna said in the previous verse that He is the origin, sustainer, and the basis of all that exists in this world. Now, He continues to explain it further in these four verses.

The sweet taste of any fruit that we eat confirms the presence of Fructose or fruit sugar in it. Similarly, Shree Krishna reveals that He is present in all the modifications of His energies. He says He is the taste in water. What does that mean? Water hardly has any taste of its own. Yet, other forms of matter such as solids, fires, and gases need liquids to carry their taste.

Have you ever tried putting a solid food item, on your dry tongue? Do you get any taste? Only when the saliva in our mouth dissolves some part of the solid, we start getting the taste as perceived by the taste buds on our tongue. After all, who can separate the taste of water from water? That is why Shree Krishna says that he is the taste in water. It is the intrinsic property of water to carry the taste of all substances; without water, there will be no taste.

In the same way, ākāśha (space) acts as the vehicle for sound. Different languages form due to sound modifications. Shree Krishna says He is the origin of it all, as the sound in space is His energy. He is the syllable Om the most important sound in the Vedic mantras. The sun and the moon get their radiance from Him. Even for all the abilities that manifest in humans, He is the ultimate energy source.

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