Bhagavad Gita BG 9.19
Chapter 9, Verse 19 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
तपाम्यहमहं वर्षं निगृह्णाम्युत्सृजामि च । अमृतं चैव मृत्युश्च सदसच्चाहमर्जुन ॥
tapamy aham aham varsham nigrhnaamy utsrjami ca amRtam caiva mrtyush ca sad asac caham arjuna
Meaning
I give heat, I withhold and I send rain. I am immortality and also death. I am sat (being) and also asat (non-being), O Arjuna.
Understanding
The fullness of the paradox. Tapamy aham (I give heat — the sun's warmth, the vital warmth of life). Aham varsham nigrahnami (I withhold rain — drought). Utsrjami (I release/send rain). All weather, all natural cycles. Amritam (immortality — the deathless) AND mrtyus (death — the great ending). Sat (being, existence, the real) AND asat (non-being, non-existence, the unreal). The Supreme is not only the positive, the good, the life-giving — it is the complete reality that includes both poles of every pair. This is the ultimate non-duality: even death, drought, and non-being are expressions of the one Supreme, not its opponents.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| तपामि | tapami | I give heat, I radiate warmth (as the sun and vital heat) |
| निगृह्णामि | nigrhnaami | I withhold, I restrain (rain — drought) |
| उत्सृजामि | utsrjami | I release, I send forth (rain) |
| अमृतम् | amrtam | immortality, deathlessness, the nectar of undying |
| सदसत् | sad-asat | being and non-being, the real and the unreal, existence and non-existence |
| तपामि | tapāmi | I give heat |
| अहम् | aham | I |
| अहम् | aham | I |
| वर्षम् | varṣam | rain |
| निगृह्णामि | nigṛhṇāmi | I withhold |
| उत्सृजामि | utsṛjāmi | I release, I send forth |
| च | ca | and |
| अमृतम् | amṛtam | immortality, nectar |
| च | ca | and |
| एव | eva | indeed |
| मृत्युः | mṛtyuḥ | death |
| च | ca | and |
| सत्-असत् | sat-asat | being and non-being |
| च | ca | and |
| अहम् | aham | I am |
| अर्जुन | arjuna | O Arjuna |
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