Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 - Vibhuti Yoga - Sloka 36

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 36

Dhyutam chalatayam asmi tejah tejasvinam aham I

Jayah asmi vyavasayah asmi sattvam sattva vatam aham II sloka 36

धयुतं छलयतां अस्मि तेजः तेजसविनां अहं I 

जयः अस्मि व्यवसायः अस्मि सत्त्वं सत्त्व वतां अहं II  श्लोक 36

I am the gambling of the fraudulent, I am the splendour of the splendid; I am victory; I am effort; I am the goodness of the good.

Robbery, forgery, fixing undue price on things, passing imitation articles as genuine - acts of these kinds are fraudulent. Gambling also comes under this category. But peoples and governments approve some forms of gambling as lawful. Betting on horses in a race is accepted as lawful. Gambling with dice was approved as legal during the Mahabharata days. Deception other than the approved gambling cannot be openly practised. 

Some forms of gambling require the use of intelligence on which their success depends. Intelligence in all forms comes from Iswara. As the light of the lamp is equally useful for forgery and for pious reading, the discernment derived from cosmic intelligence is available for both the noble and ignoble purposes. As the light of the lamp is not in anyway affected by the abuse the forgerer makes of it, the cosmic intelligence which is the lord is not tainted by the misuse the gambler makes of it. His intelligence also gets its light from the cosmic intelligence. This fact is explained by the lord.

Tejas is the original word for splendour. The brightness that is evident on the physique as a result of excellent health, sense control and continence is termed tejas. Victory consists of the elimination of the bad and establishment of the good.

Vyavasaya  is the effort to execute the good  and useful undertaking with all perseverance. It leads to noble and great achievements.It is effort again that takes man to the presence of the lord.

Sattva  is here spoken of as the good. though all the three gunas are the constituents of prakriti the sattva alone among them takes one godward.