Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 9

The Most Confidential Knowledge

9.1

श्रीभगवानुवाच | इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं प्रवक्ष्याम्यनसूयवे | ज्ञानं विज्ञानसहितं यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् ||९-१||

śrībhagavānuvāca . idaṃ tu te guhyatamaṃ pravakṣyāmyanasūyave . jñānaṃ vijñānasahitaṃ yajjñātvā mokṣyase.aśubhāt ||9-1||

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most confidential knowledge and realization, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.

9.2

राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम् | प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम् ||९-२||

rājavidyā rājaguhyaṃ pavitramidamuttamam . pratyakṣāvagamaṃ dharmyaṃ susukhaṃ kartumavyayam ||9-2||

This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.

9.3

अश्रद्दधानाः पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप | अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि ||९-३||

aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa . aprāpya māṃ nivartante mṛtyusaṃsāravartmani ||9-3||

Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.

9.4

मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना | मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः ||९-४||

mayā tatamidaṃ sarvaṃ jagadavyaktamūrtinā . matsthāni sarvabhūtāni na cāhaṃ teṣvavasthitaḥ ||9-4||

By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.

9.5

न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् | भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावनः ||९-५||

na ca matsthāni bhūtāni paśya me yogamaiśvaram . bhūtabhṛnna ca bhūtastho mamātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ ||9-5||

And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence! Although I am the maintainer of all living entities and although I am everywhere, I am not a part of this cosmic manifestation, for My Self is the very source of creation.

9.6

यथाकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः सर्वत्रगो महान् | तथा सर्वाणि भूतानि मत्स्थानीत्युपधारय ||९-६||

yathākāśasthito nityaṃ vāyuḥ sarvatrago mahān . tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni matsthānītyupadhāraya ||9-6||

Understand that as the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, rests always in the sky, all created beings rest in Me.

9.7

सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम् | कल्पक्षये पुनस्तानि कल्पादौ विसृजाम्यहम् ||९-७||

sarvabhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṃ yānti māmikām . kalpakṣaye punastāni kalpādau visṛjāmyaham ||9-7||

O son of Kuntī, at the end of the millennium all material manifestations enter into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I create them again.

9.8

प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुनः पुनः | भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात् ||९-८||

prakṛtiṃ svāmavaṣṭabhya visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ . bhūtagrāmamimaṃ kṛtsnamavaśaṃ prakṛtervaśāt ||9-8||

The whole cosmic order is under Me. Under My will it is automatically manifested again and again, and under My will it is annihilated at the end.

9.9

न च मां तानि कर्माणि निबध्नन्ति धनञ्जय | उदासीनवदासीनमसक्तं तेषु कर्मसु ||९-९||

na ca māṃ tāni karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya . udāsīnavadāsīnamasaktaṃ teṣu karmasu ||9-9||

O Dhanañjaya, all this work cannot bind Me. I am ever detached from all these material activities, seated as though neutral.

9.10

मयाध्यक्षेण प्रकृतिः सूयते सचराचरम् | हेतुनानेन कौन्तेय जगद्विपरिवर्तते ||९-१०||

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram . hetunānena kaunteya jagadviparivartate ||9-10||

This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.

9.11

अवजानन्ति मां मूढा मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम् | परं भावमजानन्तो मम भूतमहेश्वरम् ||९-११||

avajānanti māṃ mūḍhā mānuṣīṃ tanumāśritam . paraṃ bhāvamajānanto mama bhūtamaheśvaram ||9-11||

Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be.

9.12

मोघाशा मोघकर्माणो मोघज्ञाना विचेतसः | राक्षसीमासुरीं चैव प्रकृतिं मोहिनीं श्रिताः ||९-१२||

moghāśā moghakarmāṇo moghajñānā vicetasaḥ . rākṣasīmāsurīṃ caiva prakṛtiṃ mohinīṃ śritāḥ ||9-12||

Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.

9.13

महात्मानस्तु मां पार्थ दैवीं प्रकृतिमाश्रिताः | भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वा भूतादिमव्ययम् ||९-१३||

mahātmānastu māṃ pārtha daivīṃ prakṛtimāśritāḥ . bhajantyananyamanaso jñātvā bhūtādimavyayam ||9-13||

O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.

9.14

सततं कीर्तयन्तो मां यतन्तश्च दृढव्रताः | नमस्यन्तश्च मां भक्त्या नित्ययुक्ता उपासते ||९-१४||

satataṃ kīrtayanto māṃ yatantaśca dṛḍhavratāḥ . namasyantaśca māṃ bhaktyā nityayuktā upāsate ||9-14||

Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.

9.15

ज्ञानयज्ञेन चाप्यन्ये यजन्तो मामुपासते | एकत्वेन पृथक्त्वेन बहुधा विश्वतोमुखम् ||९-१५||

jñānayajñena cāpyanye yajanto māmupāsate . ekatvena pṛthaktvena bahudhā viśvatomukham ||9-15||

Others, who engage in sacrifice by the cultivation of knowledge, worship the Supreme Lord as the one without a second, as diverse in many, and in the universal form.

9.16

अहं क्रतुरहं यज्ञः स्वधाहमहमौषधम् | मन्त्रोऽहमहमेवाज्यमहमग्निरहं हुतम् ||९-१६||

ahaṃ kraturahaṃ yajñaḥ svadhāhamahamauṣadham . mantro.ahamahamevājyamahamagnirahaṃ hutam ||9-16||

But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering.

9.17

पिताहमस्य जगतो माता धाता पितामहः | वेद्यं पवित्रमोंकार ऋक्साम यजुरेव च ||९-१७||

pitāhamasya jagato mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ . vedyaṃ pavitramoṃkāra ṛksāma yajureva ca ||9-17||

I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable oṁ. I am also the Ṛg, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas.

9.18

गतिर्भर्ता प्रभुः साक्षी निवासः शरणं सुहृत् | प्रभवः प्रलयः स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम् ||९-१८||

gatirbhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṃ suhṛt . prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṃ nidhānaṃ bījamavyayam ||9-18||

I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed.

9.19

तपाम्यहमहं वर्षं निगृह्णाम्युत्सृजामि च | अमृतं चैव मृत्युश्च सदसच्चाहमर्जुन ||९-१९||

tapāmyahamahaṃ varṣaṃ nigṛhṇāmyutsṛjāmi ca . amṛtaṃ caiva mṛtyuśca sadasaccāhamarjuna ||9-19||

O Arjuna, I give heat, and I withhold and send forth the rain. I am immortality, and I am also death personified. Both spirit and matter are in Me.

9.20

त्रैविद्या मां सोमपाः पूतपापा यज्ञैरिष्ट्वा स्वर्गतिं प्रार्थयन्ते | ते पुण्यमासाद्य सुरेन्द्रलोक- मश्नन्ति दिव्यान्दिवि देवभोगान् ||९-२०||

traividyā māṃ somapāḥ pūtapāpā yajñairiṣṭvā svargatiṃ prārthayante . te puṇyamāsādya surendralokaṃ aśnanti divyāndivi devabhogān ||9-20||

Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. Purified of sinful reactions, they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights.

9.21

ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति | एवं त्रयीधर्ममनुप्रपन्ना गतागतं कामकामा लभन्ते ||९-२१||

te taṃ bhuktvā svargalokaṃ viśālaṃ kṣīṇe puṇye martyalokaṃ viśanti . evaṃ trayīdharmamanuprapannā gatāgataṃ kāmakāmā labhante ||9-21||

When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death.

9.22

अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते | तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ||९-२२||

ananyāścintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate . teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yogakṣemaṃ vahāmyaham ||9-22||

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.

9.23

येऽप्यन्यदेवता भक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः | तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम् ||९-२३||

ye.apyanyadevatābhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ . te.api māmeva kaunteya yajantyavidhipūrvakam ||9-23||

Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.

9.24

अहं हि सर्वयज्ञानां भोक्ता च प्रभुरेव च | न तु मामभिजानन्ति तत्त्वेनातश्च्यवन्ति ते ||९-२४||

ahaṃ hi sarvayajñānāṃ bhoktā ca prabhureva ca . na tu māmabhijānanti tattvenātaścyavanti te ||9-24||

I am the only enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Therefore, those who do not recognize My true transcendental nature fall down.

9.25

यान्ति देवव्रता देवान्पितॄन्यान्ति पितृव्रताः | भूतानि यान्ति भूतेज्या यान्ति मद्याजिनोऽपि माम् ||९-२५||

yānti devavratā devānpitṝnyānti pitṛvratāḥ . bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti madyājino.api mām ||9-25||

Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who worship Me will live with Me.

9.26

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति | तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ||९-२६||

patraṃ puṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati . tadahaṃ bhaktyupahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||9-26||

If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.

9.27

यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् | यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ||९-२७||

yatkaroṣi yadaśnāsi yajjuhoṣi dadāsi yat . yattapasyasi kaunteya tatkuruṣva madarpaṇam ||9-27||

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.

9.28

शुभाशुभफलैरेवं मोक्ष्यसे कर्मबन्धनैः | संन्यासयोगयुक्तात्मा विमुक्तो मामुपैष्यसि ||९-२८||

śubhāśubhaphalairevaṃ mokṣyase karmabandhanaiḥ . saṃnyāsayogayuktātmā vimukto māmupaiṣyasi ||9-28||

In this way you will be freed from bondage to work and its auspicious and inauspicious results. With your mind fixed on Me in this principle of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me.

9.29

समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रियः | ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम् ||९-२९||

samo.ahaṃ sarvabhūteṣu na me dveṣyo.asti na priyaḥ . ye bhajanti tu māṃ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpyaham ||9-29||

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.

9.30

अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक् | साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः ||९-३०||

api cetsudurācāro bhajate māmananyabhāk . sādhureva sa mantavyaḥ samyagvyavasito hi saḥ ||9-30||

Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.

9.31

क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा शश्वच्छान्तिं निगच्छति | कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति ||९-३१||

kṣipraṃ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvacchāntiṃ nigacchati . kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati ||9-31||

He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.

9.32

मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य येऽपि स्युः पापयोनयः | स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेऽपि यान्ति परां गतिम् ||९-३२||

māṃ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye.api syuḥ pāpayonayaḥ . striyo vaiśyāstathā śūdrāste.api yānti parāṃ gatim ||9-32||

O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaiśyas [merchants] and śūdras [workers] – can attain the supreme destination.

9.33

किं पुनर्ब्राह्मणाः पुण्या भक्ता राजर्षयस्तथा | अनित्यमसुखं लोकमिमं प्राप्य भजस्व माम् ||९-३३||

kiṃ punarbrāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā bhaktā rājarṣayastathā . anityamasukhaṃ lokamimaṃ prāpya bhajasva mām ||9-33||

How much more this is so of the righteous brāhmaṇas, the devotees and the saintly kings. Therefore, having come to this temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me.

9.34

मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु | मामेवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानं मत्परायणः ||९-३४||

manmanā bhava madbhakto madyājī māṃ namaskuru . māmevaiṣyasi yuktvaivamātmānaṃ matparāyaṇaḥ ||9-34||

Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.