अहं क्रतुरहं यज्ञः स्वधाहमहमौषधम् ।मन्त्रोऽहमहमेवाज्यमहमग्निरहं हुतम् ॥
ahaṃ kratur ahaṃ yajñaḥ svadhāham aham auṣadham | mantro 'ham aham evājyam aham agnir ahaṃ hutam ||
- अहम् · aham
- I
- क्रतुः · kratuḥ
- the rite, resolve
- यज्ञः · yajñaḥ
- the sacrifice
- स्वधा · svadhā
- the ancestral offering
- औषधम् · auṣadham
- the herb, healing plant
- मन्त्रः · mantraḥ
- the sacred formula
- आज्यम् · ājyam
- the clarified butter
- अग्निः · agniḥ
- the fire
- हुतम् · hutam
- the oblation
“I am the rite, I am the sacrifice, I am the ancestral offering, I the healing herb. I am the sacred formula, I the clarified butter, I the fire, I the oblation.”
— Original plain-language translation
Every element of the Vedic sacrifice is claimed as Krishna himself — agent, instrument, and offering at once. No rite reaches past him because every rite is already him. The catalogue continues into the next two verses.
— Reader's notes (original)