Bhagavad Gita 10.27: meaning and translation

Chapter 10: Vibhuti Yoga. Krishna says

Among horses, Krishna says, Arjuna should know him as Uccaiḥśravas, born of the nectar (amṛta) when the ocean was churned; among lordly elephants, Airāvata; and among people, the king.

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Bhagavad Gita 10.27

उच्चैःश्रवसमश्वानां विद्धि माममृतोद्भवम् ।ऐरावतं गजेन्द्राणां नराणां च नराधिपम् ॥

Uchchaihshravasamashvanam viddhi mamamritodbhavamAiravatam gajendranam naranam cha naradhipam

uccaiḥśravasamaśvānāṃ viddhi māmamṛtodbhavam |airāvataṃ gajendrāṇāṃ narāṇāṃ ca narādhipam ||

How to read these English letters (IAST)

Our explanation Among horses, Krishna says, Arjuna should know him as Uccaiḥśravas, born of the nectar (amṛta) when the ocean was churned; among lordly elephants, Airāvata; and among people, the king.

हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि घोड़ों में उन्हें अमृत से (समुद्र मंथन के समय) उत्पन्न उच्चैःश्रवा जानो; श्रेष्ठ हाथियों में ऐरावत; और मनुष्यों में राजा।

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Word by word

  1. उच्चैःश्रवसम् uccaiḥśravasam · Uccaiḥśravas (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: uccaiḥ-śravas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 173, col. 1 “N. of the horse (of Indra, L.) produced at the churning of the ocean”
  2. अश्वानाम् aśvānām · among horses (noun (masculine), genitive plural) Dictionary: 1. aśva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 114, col. 3 “a horse, stallion”
  3. विद्धि viddhi · know (imperative, 2nd person singular) Dictionary: 1. vid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 963, col. 2 “to know, understand, perceive, learn”
  4. माम् mām · "me" (Krishna) (pronoun, accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”
  5. अमृतोद्भवम् amṛtodbhavam · born of the nectar (amṛta) (compound (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: a-mṛta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 82, col. 2 “the nectar (conferring immortality, produced at the churning of the ocean), ambrosia”; ud-bhava, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 190, col. 2 “existence, generation, origin, production, birth”
  6. ऐरावतम् airāvatam · Airāvata (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: airāvata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 234, col. 2 “N. of Indra's elephant”
  7. गजेन्द्राणाम् gajendrāṇām · among lordly elephants (compound (masculine), genitive plural) Dictionary: gajendra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 342, col. 2; gaja-rāja, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 342, col. 2 “a noble elephant”
  8. नराणाम् narāṇām · among people (noun (masculine), genitive plural) Dictionary: nara, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 528, col. 3 “a man, a male, a person”
  9. च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
  10. नराधिपम् narādhipam · the king (compound (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: narādhipa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 529, col. 2; narādhipati, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 529, col. 2 “king, prince”

Old translations

Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 89.

Among horses know me to be Ukkaissravas1, brought forth by (the labours for) the nectar; and Airâvata among the great elephants, and the ruler of men among men2.

  1. This is Indra's horse, brought out at the churning of the ocean. Airâvata is Indra's elephant. ↩
  2. Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 121. ↩
English translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882); public domain. archive.org (page 89, scan leaf n102). Shown verbatim.
Compare 3 translations

Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 89.

Among horses know me to be Ukkaissravas1, brought forth by (the labours for) the nectar; and Airâvata among the great elephants, and the ruler of men among men2.

  1. This is Indra's horse, brought out at the churning of the ocean. Airâvata is Indra's elephant. ↩
  2. Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 121. ↩
English translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882); public domain. archive.org (page 89, scan leaf n102). Shown verbatim.

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Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 100.

Uchchaishravas of horses know Me, Amrita-born; Airâvata of lordly elephants, and of men the Monarch.

English translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895); public domain. archive.org (page 100, scan leaf n106). Shown verbatim.

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Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 205.

Know Me among horses as Uchchaisshravà, Amrita-born; of lordly elephants Airávata, and of men the king.

English translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909); public domain. archive.org (page 205, scan leaf n208). Shown verbatim.

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Cite this verse

The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 89. Bhagavad Gita 10.27.

The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 100. Bhagavad Gita 10.27.

The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 205. Bhagavad Gita 10.27.

Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 10.27: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/10/27/

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Classical readings, by school

No readings by school on this verse yet.

Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes

Questions families ask

Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 10.27?

Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 10 (Vibhuti Yoga).

Where does the Sanskrit text come from?

Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source

Is the meaning on this page a translation?

Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.

Source and licence

Sanskrit text
The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
Translation
The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
Translation
The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
Translation
Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
Common wording
In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Our explanation
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Checked
Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
Updated
October 25, 2026

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