Devanagari
धिष्ण्यानामस्म्यहं मेरुर्गहनानां हिमालय: ।
वनस्पतीनामश्वत्थ ओषधीनामहं यव: ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
dhiṣṇyānām asmy ahaṁ merur
gahanānāṁ himālayaḥ
vanaspatīnām aśvattha
oṣadhīnām ahaṁ yavaḥ
Synonyms
dhiṣṇyānām
—
residences
;
asmi
—
am
;
aham
—
I
;
meruḥ
—
Mount Sumeru
;
gahanānām
—
of impervious places
;
himālayaḥ
—
the Himālayas
;
vanaspatīnām
—
among trees
;
aśvatthaḥ
—
banyan tree
;
oṣadhīnām
—
among plants
;
aham
—
I
;
yavaḥ
—
barley .
Translation
Among residences I am Mount Sumeru, and of impervious places I am the Himālayas. Among trees I am the holy fig tree, and among plants I am those that bear grains.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Among residences, I am Mount Sumeru, and among inaccessible places I am the Himalayas. Among trees, I am the holy fig tree, and among plants, I am barley.
Among places of shelter I am Sumeru. Among inaccessible place, I am the Himalayas.
Purport
Oṣadhīnām
here indicates those plants that fructify once and then die. Among them, those that give grains, which sustain human life, represent Kṛṣṇa. Without grains it is not possible to produce milk products, nor can one properly perform Vedic fire sacrifices without offerings of grains.