पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ । जीवनं सर्वभूतेषु तपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु ॥
puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāṃ ca tejaścāsmi vibhāvasau | jīvanaṃ sarvabhūteṣu tapaścāsmi tapasviṣu ||
Translation
I am the sacred fragrance of the earth and I am the brilliance in fire; I am the life in all beings and I am the austerity of the ascetics.
Interpretation
The identification continues: the pure fragrance of earth (punyah gandhah — the sacred scent of soil, the quality that makes earth earth). The brilliance of fire (tejas in fire — not the fire itself but what makes it fiery, its capacity to illumine and transform). The life-force in all beings (jivanam — not any particular life, but the animating principle itself). And the spiritual power in the ascetics' tapas (austerity) — the divine energy that makes genuine discipline fruitful. In each case, Krishna is the ineffable quality, the essential nature.