I am the taste in water, O son of Kunti; I am the radiance in the moon and the sun. I am the sacred syllable Om in all the Vedas, the sound in space, and the manliness in men.
Explanation
Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how everything is strung on him like jewels on a thread (the previous verse). He now starts naming the essential quality in each thing: taste (rasa) in water, light in the sun and moon, the syllable Om (praṇava) in the Vedas, sound in space, and manliness or human capacity (pauruṣa) in people. Commentators differ on pauruṣa: some read it as manliness or courage, others as human effort or ability in general.