Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 - Vibhuti Yoga - Sloka 28

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Chidbhavananda's translation of Bhagavad Gita , published by Ramakrishna Mission

Vibhutis Defined - 19-40

1 Gita Sloka  every day - Chapter 10 - Vibhuti Yoga - Sloka 28

Ananthapadmanabhan - Thiruvananthapuram

Ayudhanam aham vajram dhenunam asmi kamadhuk I

Prajanah cha asmi kandarpa sarpanam asmi vasuki II sloka 28

आयुधानां अहं वज्रं धेनूनां अस्मि कामधुक् I

प्रजनः च अस्मि कन्दर्पः सर्पाणां अस्मि  वासुकिः II श्लोक 28

Of the weapons I am the thunderbolt; of cows I am kamadhuk; I am Kandarpa of the progenitors; of serpents I am Vasuki. 

Mace and discus are the wonted weapons of Sriman Narayana. Instead of referring to these celebrated weapons, the Lord has purposely made a mention of Vajra or the thunderbolt. The former weapons are eternally part and parcel of his innate being. Whereas the Vajra is the manufactured one for a set purpose. Indra the Lord of the devas found it impossible to vanquish the invincible Vritrasura except with the weapon of Vajra. The material for manufacturing this weapon is the bones of a sage who is all purity , austerity and perfection, voluntarily given to the cause of universal welfare. Indra found the fulfillment of all these conditions in the sage Dadichi. On Indra's presenting his case, the sage sat in samadhi and gave up the body for the conquest of evil. The thunderbolt could be made because of the sacrifice of Dadichi. Manufacture of vajrayudha is the ideal ever held out to India in particular and humanity in general, to combat wickedness. The willing self sacrifice of a large number of holy men  and women for public welfare is what is wanted. This holy act is allegorically put as the weapon of vajra. The Lord is present where the weapon of vajra is present. 

Kamadhuk or the milch cow of desire is one of the rare products from the churning of the ocean of milk already mentioned. This cow has the power to supply all the requirements in life. Tradition has it that the rishi Vashishta was never in want because of the 

profuse supply made by this divine cow. Mention is made in chapter three, stanza 10, that a willing and cheerful mind and the endeavours on right lines constitute this milch cow of desire. In plain words, an exuberant mind and wholesome ventures are indeed the glories of the Lord.

Kandarpa is cupid - the personification of progenitive instinct. Progeny is possible because of this urge in beings. It is not to be condemned as base but revered as divine in origin. The Lord puts it to us that this urge of his is a divine attribute.

The serpent is a venomous creature. All the same it is associated with Iswara in all his forms. It is the symbol of his cosmic energy. In man the dormant power is called kundalini shakti or the coiled up power syumbolised as the serpent power. Happiness and misery, life and death are both expressions of energy. The negative expression is the poison in the snake. Vasuki the poisonous snake was utilised as a rope to rotate the Mount Meru in the act of churning of the ocean of milk. The Lord speaks of the snake as his own energy.