Commentary

Commentary

This verse spans the full range from destruction to creation, from death to the most graceful feminine qualities. Krishna is mrityuh sarvaharah — death that devours everything. Every moment, death is claiming something: a breath, a moment, a cell, a life. Death is the ultimate equalizer, the one force that no power, wealth, or knowledge can resist. And this too is Krishna.

Simultaneously, Krishna is udbhava — the generating principle of all that will come into existence in the future. He is both the end and the beginning. Where death appears to be the final word, it is actually followed by new creation, new birth, new possibility. The same divine power that dissolves is the power that generates.

The second half of the verse lists seven feminine qualities (stree-svarupa), all of which are manifestations of Krishna’s energy: keerti (fame), shree (prosperity and beauty), vaak (speech), smriti (memory), medhaa (intelligence), dhriti (steadfastness or patience), and kshamaa (forgiveness). In Sanskrit, all seven of these words are grammatically feminine.

This is deeply significant. These are not minor or ornamental qualities — they are among the most powerful forces in human life. Fame inspires others, prosperity sustains society, speech creates and destroys worlds, memory preserves knowledge, intelligence navigates complexity, steadfastness endures hardship, and forgiveness heals wounds. By identifying these specifically feminine-gendered qualities as His own opulence, Krishna elevates the feminine principle within the divine framework. Wherever you see these qualities shining in a person, you are seeing a spark of the Divine.