Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 10.38

daṇḍo damayatām asmi

nītir asmi jigīṣatām

maunaḿ caivāsmi guhyānāḿ

jñānaḿ jñānavatām aham

SYNONYMS

daṇḍaḥ — punishment; damayatām — of all means of suppression; asmi — I am; nītiḥ — morality; asmi — I am; jigīṣatām — of those who seek victory; maunam — silence; ca — and; eva — also; asmi — I am; guhyānām — of secrets; jñānam — knowledge; jñāna-vatām — of the wise; aham — I am.

TRANSLATION

Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom.

PURPORT

There are many suppressing agents, of which the most important are those that cut down miscreants. When miscreants are punished, the agency of chastisement represents Kṛṣṇa. Among those who are trying to be victorious in some field of activity, the most victorious element is morality. Among the confidential activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence is most important because by silence one can make progress very quickly. The wise man is he who can discriminate between matter and spirit, between God's superior and inferior natures. Such knowledge is Kṛṣṇa Himself.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness