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In the 10th Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna said as follows:

पवनः पवतामस्मि रामः शस्त्रभृतामहम्।

झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मि जाह्नवी।।10.31।।

"Among the purifiers (or the speeders) I am the wind; Rama among the warriors am I; among the fishes I am the shark; among the streams I am the Ganga."

Now, a question arises as to which Rama was being referred to in this Sloka, was it Rama, the son of Dasaratha (or) Rama, the son of Jamadagni, as both of them preceded Sri Krishna.

The Destroyer
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Srimannarayana K V
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    why not balarama :). it could have been anyone, nobody knows. However here is a commentary of that verse by all the various teachers of Vedanta. Shankaracharya interprets it as Sri Sita Rama, the Son of Dasharatha, while Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya interprets it to be Lord Parashurama. http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/bhagavad-gita-10-31/ – Sai Oct 09 '15 at 15:39
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    Yes. It can be anyone. However, while saying that He was the greatest among all sects, he said this. So, that warrior must be greatest and popular. Except in Srimad Bhagavatam, Balarama was not extolled as greatest warrior. In Mahabharata he was mentioned as the teacher of both Bhima and Duryodhana. – Srimannarayana K V Oct 09 '15 at 15:49
  • Where does he say that he is greatest among all the sects? – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 09 '15 at 16:22
  • Yeah you are right. But if you refer to the commentaries that I have linked, some acharyas believe it is Sri Rama, while some believe it is Sri Parashurama. Probably if you really want to analyze further you can say, Balarama would have been a master of Mace, while Parashurama was a master of the Axe, and Sri Rama a master of the Bow and Arrow. :) – Sai Oct 09 '15 at 16:25
  • @Sai, I too feel more likely to be BalaRama. Because he also was an Avatara. Relating Sri Rama just with weapon would be too small illustration for his Stature. While Parashu Rama's first identity was Brahmin or Guru and he already ceased to use weapons at his later life. – iammilind Oct 09 '15 at 16:57
  • @iammilind I could be totally wrong, however I feel that Lord Krishna hardly ever talks about Him being one out of many previous incarnations. He always says that He is Brahman. Therefore I feel more likely to be balarama (who was his contemporary) rather than past characters, who in later times have come to be associated as the Same Purusha :). Thanks – Sai Oct 09 '15 at 17:59
  • Yes. Lord Krishna hardly ever talks about Him being one out of many previous incarnations. He always says that He is Brahman. I would like to add another qualification for this greatest WARRIOR. That warrior should remain unconquered in his times. Parasurama got defeated at the hands of his disciple Bhisma. – Srimannarayana K V Oct 10 '15 at 00:15
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    @Sai Well, almost all the other people he mentioned were past figures, like Prahlada, Vamana, etc.; I don't think he mentions anyone currently alive on the Earth in that chapter. So I think it's more likely that it's a past figure like Rama or Parashurama. By the way, what do you mean by "Lord Krishna hardly ever talks about Him being one out of many previous incarnations." He doesn't talk about it much in the Bhagavad Gita (he's focused on philosophy), but both elsewhere in the Mahabharata and other Hindu scriptures there are countless statements by Krishna talking about past incarnations. – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 10 '15 at 01:42
  • @srimannarayanakv Parashurama wasn't defeated in battle, he voluntarily decided to put his weapons down because his ancestral spirits told him that Bhishma was supposed to be killed by someone else, and that he should stop acting like a Kshatriya; see my answer here: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/2178/36 – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 10 '15 at 01:52
  • @KeshavSrinivasan yeah actually I think you're right in that He has talked about Prahlada and Vamana, who were past figures. Perhaps my impression is not a right one. By "Lord Krishna hardly..." I meant that as far as I have read, I have not seen it, but again as I said I believe I could be totally wrong. So could you refer me to some passages from Mahabharata, where Lord Krishna talks about Sri Rama excepting this one (I am sure there may be some statements in Puranas, but I am specifically talking about Mahabharata). – Sai Oct 10 '15 at 01:55
  • @KeshavSrinivasa, Krishna did compared him with Arjuna who was alive and listening to himself. :-) He also referred Rudra Shankar & Saptarshi Who are said to be existent before him till now. Besides, he also referred to other elements existent in earth like Ganga, Peepal tree. Except Vaamana, he hasn't referred any other Avatara, which makes argument of BalaRama even stronger. – iammilind Oct 10 '15 at 02:21
  • @iammilind Apart from himself and Arjuna, I don't think he mentions any recently born human beings. On the other hand, he mentions lots of people who lived in earlier times, like Vamana, Prahlada, and Kapila. In any case, if he meant Balarama then I think at least one of the Bhagavad Gita commentators would have said it. But all of them say either Dasaratha's son Rama or Parashurama. – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 10 '15 at 02:57
  • @Sai I'm not sure whether Krishna ever refers to the Ramayana in the Mahabharata, but other people in the Mahabharata refer to Rama as an incarnation. Vishnu tells Narada "I shall then display myself as a boar, then as a Man-lion (Nrisingha), then as a dwarf, then as Rama of Bhrigu's race, then as Rama, the son of Dasaratha, then as Krishna the scion of the Sattwata race, and lastly as Kalki." http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c039.htm Lomasa tells Yudhishthira "For the destruction of Ravana, O king, Vishnu, in his own body, took his birth as the son of illustrious Dasaratha." – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 10 '15 at 03:00
  • @Sai Dhaumya tells Yudisthira "And living disguised in the abode of Dasaratha, Vishnu of dreadful deeds slew the Ten-necked one in battle." http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03313.htm Hanuman tells Bhima "And it came to pass that the mighty son of Dasaratha the heroic Rama, who is Vishnu's self in the shape of a human being, took his birth in this world." http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03146.htm – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 10 '15 at 03:04
  • @Sai As far as Krishna talking about past incarnations, he talks a lot about the fact that he used to be the sage Narayana. Like he tells Arjuna "O thou irrepressible one, thou art Nara and I am Narayana or Hari! We are the Rishis Nara and Narayana born in the world of men for a special purpose." http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03012.htm And he tells Arjuna "Assuming, in days of old, the form of a boar with a single tusk, O enhancer of the joys of others, I raised the submerged Earth from the bottom of the ocean." http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c042.htm – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 10 '15 at 03:09
  • @KeshavSrinivasan My point here is specifically about Krishna talking about himself being a repetition of a previous incarnation. I am not looking for a reference that Rama and Krishna are one from Mahabharata (Everyone already knows that they are One!). So the first two comments aren't very helpful in that sense, although it is good to know. However the last comment with Lord Krishna's words to Arjuna was amazing! Thank you for sharing that. Perhaps I should rephrase that "Lord Krishna hardly ever talks about Rama in the Mahabharata" :). Anyway the Truth is only the Lord knows who it is :). – Sai Oct 10 '15 at 14:02
  • @Sai "My point here is specifically about Krishna talking about himself being a repetition of a previous incarnation" Yeah, there's plenty of ststements in the Mahabharata and other scriptures where Krishna refers to previous incarnations. For unstance, I don't know how many times Krishna told Arjuna about the fact that they used to be Nara and Narayana. Arjuna might have been tired of hearing it :-) But yeah, it is true that Krishna doesn't talk about the Ramayana much in the Mahabharata, except once when consoling Yudishthira about the death of Ghatotkacha. – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 10 '15 at 14:07
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    While going through the Sundara Kanda I found the following Sloka: कुशली तव काकुत्स्थः सर्व शस्त्रभृताम् वरः | गुरोः आराधने युक्तो लक्ष्मणः च सुलक्षणः || ५-३५-७४ "Your Rama, the excellent man among all the wielders of bow, is safe......". Here, Sri Hanuma is referring Sri Rama as सर्व शस्त्रभृताम् वरः . So, in my view, it is Sri Rama, who was referrred to by Sri Krishna in the Sloka referred to in the question. – Srimannarayana K V Oct 13 '15 at 14:08
  • Simple.. in that entire chapter, Krishna is identifying himself with the best in each field. and Rama defeated Parashurama (when he challenged Rama to grab Vishnu Dhanus, which Rama did and destroyed all his tapas with an arrow). Nobody defeated Rama, so he is the best, so Krishna meant SriRama, not Parashurama. – ram Aug 17 '16 at 19:32
  • @ram that may be true however it is not explicitly mentioned. Also, since Parushurama is immortal things might be different. Therefore we do not know. – Wikash_ Aug 12 '20 at 11:25
  • @Wikash_, you do not know. if you listen to upanyasa of scholars who are experts in decoding the meanings of scriptures, he refers to Sri Rama. – ram Aug 14 '20 at 01:04
  • @ram I suspect that the Brahman is perfectly aware that we are not perfect. So if he wanted he could explicitly mention which Rama he was referring to. The fact that we are debating this says enough. – Wikash_ Aug 14 '20 at 07:05
  • @Wikash_, if that was the case, there is no need for any sort of commentary on any scripture by any scholar. – ram Aug 14 '20 at 09:11
  • @ram comments can be useful in that they sometimes give good background or link multiple verses within the same scripture however we should remain critical. – Wikash_ Aug 14 '20 at 11:07

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Adi Sankaracharya in his Bhagavad Gita Bhashyam says

रामः शस्त्रभृताम् अहं शस्त्राणां धारयितृृणां दाशरथी रामः अहम् ।

rāmaḥ śastrabhṛtām ahaṃ śastrāṇāṃ dhārayitṛṛṇāṃ dāśarathī rāmaḥ aham ।

I am Rama among the armed men. I am Dasaratha Rama (viz the son of the King Dasaratha) among the bearers of weapons.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati explains the Sankara's commentary to this sloka as

Among those who wield weapons, I am Rama who is an avatara of Visnu himself. The avatara in this human body of Rama had great prowess. Even with one arrow he could dry up the ocean and perform incredible feats because his arrows had extraordinary powers. Since there are other powerful avataras also named Rama, like Parasurama and Balarama, Sankara says, Dāśarathī Rāma, who was the son of Dasaratha.

So it is Lord Rama, son of Dasaratha who is referred here to.

Hope this helps you.

Sri Shiva Charañam Dāsa Vishñu
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ParashurAma seems the right interpretation.

BG 10.31 - Of the purifiers I am air; among the wielders of weapons I am Rama. Among fishes, too, I am the shark; I am Ganga among rivers.

This has a solid back-up in MahAbhArata's Adi Parva:

Sauti said, 'Listen, O ye Brahmanas, to the sacred descriptions I utter O ye best of men, ye deserve to hear of the place known as Samanta-panchaka. In the interval between the Treta and Dwapara Yugas, Rama (the son of Jamadagni) great among all who have borne arms, urged by impatience of wrongs, repeatedly smote the noble race of Kshatriyas.

There is a difference between "warrior" (as in Qn) & "wielder of weapons" (correct translation). "Wielder" means "[much] conversant". A person very much conversant with weapons may not win all the wars, because war requires -- tactics, swiftness, strategy -- apart from weapons.

Reasons

  1. It's believed that ParashurAma was living during Gita time, while lord RAma had already died long back. Now most of the people & entities referred in Gita's chapter 10 were existent during the discourse of Gita: i.e. Arjuna, VAsudeva, VyAsa, Indra, Kubera, Veda-s, etc.
  2. Like lord Rama, both ParashurAma & BalarAma were conversant with weapons. All 3 were referred as "RAma" at many placed.
  3. At least few commentators explicitly mention "ParashurAma" in their commentary of this verse: Sri Vishvanatha Thakur, Sri Sridhara Swami, Sri Keshava Kashmiri. Many others simply mention "RAma" without further clarification.
  4. Lord RAma was known for many other things like -- protector of Dharma, marriage with Sita, 14 years in forest, killing RAvana, later life related to Luv-Kusha, chemistry with VAli-Sugriva-Hanumana; The weapons part was a small part of his life;
  5. ParashurAma is primarily known for his hold on weapons, as he killed many of the Kshatriya-s; Moreover, he was also the Guru of other great warriors like -- Bhishma, Drona, Karna
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iammilind
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  • You are forgetting one thing that a huge portion of Mahabharata adulting Bhargava Rama is considered later interpolation.You are also forgetting the fact that Bharghava Rama knowledge of weapon is way less than Arjuna or Indra. He didn't even know how to counter a weapon like Paraspana. The presiding deity of Paraspana was Vasu. Can you give a reference from a text that Parshurama had a knowledge of weapons like Vaisnava or Narayana? – Nayonika Vats May 01 '18 at 01:35
  • Weapon part was a small part of his life. Are you really serious? Can you name a fighter other than Rama who used all the supreme missiles like Brahmastra, Vaisnavaastra, and Raudra in war. Parshurama doesn't even seem to know Vaisnavastra or Raudra. – Nayonika Vats May 01 '18 at 01:39
  • I urge you to defend your argument (preferebly from Itihasa ). In Padma Puranas even Shatrughan had all the divine weapon . Did Parshurama have Raudra or Vaisnava weapon? – Nayonika Vats May 01 '18 at 01:42
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    @NayonikaVats, if you have some good arguments then you may post an answer with those references. Lord Rama is not known for wielding weapons but he is known about values & truthfulness. Lord Parashurama was Guru of grea Bhishma & great Drona, those were known for several weapons. The answer doesn't intend to belittle Lord Rama or Lord Parashurama. It just interprets a Gita verse. No offense plz. – iammilind May 01 '18 at 02:59
  • A distasteful argument is perceived as a bad argument for you. You don't fool me. You know the very purpose of this interpretation. You quote'' Now most of the people & entities referred in Gita's chapter 10 were existent during the discourse of Gita: i.e. Arjuna, VAsudeva, VyAsa, Indra, Kubera, Veda-s, etc'' Was Prahlada and Usanas were alive? Drona got weapon for other sources. – Nayonika Vats May 01 '18 at 05:27
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    @NayonikaVats, well I don't know why do you feel that I find your argument distasteful! Probably you have a very proper sources. My suggestion is that, by putting a comment here, your version is not visible to many. If you put an answer then, many users will learn and would come to know about different sources, than what I have referred. Regarding, PrahlAda, it's most likely that he was not alive, as discussed here. Ushana, if considered as "Shukracharya" which can be a person or a post, then most likely would have been alive during Gita. – iammilind May 01 '18 at 06:24
  • Parashurama was defeated by Sri Rama. No way, it is referring to Parashurama. – ram May 01 '18 at 16:26
  • Stop speculating and start reading the Mahabharata https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03099.htm – Nayonika Vats Nov 16 '19 at 01:11
  • Dear @iammilind when you answer then answer it on your knowledge rather answering it over other "human interpretations" because there is always a possibility of human error ,Hope you get the point here ! – Shashi Aug 12 '20 at 11:13
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It refers to Lord Shri RAM (son of Raja Dashrath) .Why it is so because the sloka clearly state word रामः

"रामः शस्त्रभृतामहम्"

Means Just Ram but not Parshuram or any other Ram .Because Lord Ram with his शस्त्र is undefeatable .Even Lord Shri Parshuram has acknowledged it During Goddess Shri Sita swayamvar prasang .

Further In shrimad bhagvatam when lord Brahma worshipped Lord Krishna He urged sloka :

सत्यव्रतं सत्यपरं त्रिसत्यं

सत्यस्ययोनिं निहतं च सत्ये

सत्यस्य सत्यमृतं सत्यनेत्रं,

सत्यात्मकं त्वाँ शरणं प्रपन्नः

He called the Lord as सत्य and everything related to him as सत्य mean Lord himself is सत्य and whatever he says/speaks is सत्य ,So when the Lord says राम then it means just राम but certainly not परशुराम ,otherwise it will be a lie aka असत्य and God never lies .

I know you may argue that Lord Shri Krishna manipulated things as suggested in Mahabharata and all but that is nothing but a fallacy ,Don't get influenced by the narrative made by so called different Dharmic serials and their creators , In the name of creativity they disrespect the dignity and purity of the Lord . Lord never speaks a lie ,Infact whatever he says becomes the ultimate truth because this is what God is all about , the truth and only the Truth . If you want to know the truth then you should read the actual ancient sculptures rather reading it through its interpretations. Jai Shri Krishna !

Shashi
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According to "ram tattva prakash" by shri ramananda sampradaya rasik acharya Madhuracharya, Shri Krishna was actually referring to bhagwan parshuram in "ramah shastabhrutam aham" in bhagwat gita 10.31

Rambhakt Niroj Prasad
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Gita 10.31 पवन: पवतामस्मि राम: शस्त्रभृतामहम् | झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मि जाह्नवी ||

Here , mostly people say here ram is referred to as bhagwan shri Ramchandra.

But there is difference between shastradhari (who took upon weapon) and kshatriya. Shri Ram is born kshatriya. He never took upon weapon on purpose.

Also Anand ramayan clearly says

रामेण सदृशो देव न भुतो न भविष्यति।

There was no god nor there will be any god who is equal to bhagwan shri Ramchandra.

Moreover in Brihad Ramayan

न राघव समोदेवः क्कापि ब्रह्माण्ड गोलके।

There was no god nor there will be any god who is equal to bhagwan shri Ramchandra.

So it's quite clear that here "ram " is not said to shri Ramchandra.

Let's see Mahabharata adi parv 2.3

त्रेताद्वापरयोः संधौ रामः शस्त्रभृतां वरः। असकृत्पार्थिवं क्षेत्रं जघानामर्षचोदितः।।

Mahabharata adi parv 2.3

In the interval between the Treta and Dwapara Yugas, Rama (the son of Jamadagni) great among all who have borne arms, urged by impatience of wrongs, repeatedly smote the noble race of Kshatriyas.

Ram is actually said to parshuram ji.

Rambhakt Niroj Prasad
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