Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7: Jnana Vijnana Yoga, All 30 Verses with Meaning

मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः
असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ॥ ७.१ ॥

Mayy asaktamanah partha yogam yunjan madashrayah
Asamshayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tach chhrinu

MeaningThe Blessed Lord says: Partha, with your mind attached to me, practising yoga and taking refuge in me, listen to how you will know me fully and without doubt.

NoteChapter 7 begins a new section of the Gita. The first six chapters were mainly about action and meditation. From here Krishna turns to himself and to the nature of the divine. The word yoga in the first line now refers to a practice that is directed to the Lord.

ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः
यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते ॥ ७.२ ॥

Jnanam te 'ham savijnanam idam vakshyamy asheshatah
Yaj jnatva neha bhuyo 'nyaj jnatavyam avashishyate

MeaningI will tell you this knowledge in full, together with its realisation. When it is known, there is nothing further here that remains to be known.

NoteTwo words are paired here: jnana, knowledge, and vijnana, which is read as knowledge made real in experience. Krishna says he will give both, and that nothing further will remain to be known.

मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये
यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥ ७.३ ॥

Manushyanam sahasreshu kash chid yatati siddhaye
Yatatam api siddhanam kash chin mam vetti tattvatah

MeaningAmong thousands of people, hardly one strives for perfection. And even among those who strive and succeed, hardly one knows me as I truly am.

NoteA sober verse. It says that knowing the Lord in truth is rare even among those who work for perfection.

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च
अहंकार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥ ७.४ ॥

Bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva cha
Ahankara itiyam me bhinna prakritir ashtadha

MeaningEarth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and the sense of I: this is how my nature is divided into eight parts.

NoteThe list of eight, the five elements, mind, intellect and the sense of I, is the Gita's own picture of nature. It resembles the list of the Sankhya school but is not identical to it.

अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम्
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥ ७.५ ॥

Apareyam itas tv anyam prakritim viddhi me param
Jivabhutam mahabaho yayedam dharyate jagat

MeaningThis is the lower. But know my other nature, the higher one, which has become the life in beings, mighty-armed, and by which this world is held up.

NoteKrishna names two natures of his own. The lower is the eightfold nature of verse 4, and the higher is the living principle that holds the world up. The pairing of a lower and a higher nature is taken up again in chapter 13.

एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय
अहं कृत्स्नस्य जगतः प्रभवः प्रलयस्तथा ॥ ७.६ ॥

Etadyonini bhutani sarvanity upadharaya
Aham kritsnasya jagatah prabhavah pralayas tatha

MeaningUnderstand that all beings come from these two as their womb. I am the source of the whole world, and also its dissolving.

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किं चिदस्ति धनंजय
मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥ ७.७ ॥

Mattah parataram nanyat kim chid asti dhananjaya
Mayi sarvam idam protam sutre manigana iva

MeaningThere is nothing higher than me, Dhananjaya. All this is strung on me, like rows of gems on a thread.

NoteThe picture of gems on a thread is used often in later teaching. The thread is hidden, and it is what holds the whole string together.

रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः
प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ॥ ७.८ ॥

Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhasmi shashisuryayoh
Pranavah sarvavedeshu shabdah khe paurusham nrishu

MeaningI am the taste in water, Kaunteya, the light in the moon and the sun, the sacred syllable Om in all the Vedas, the sound in space and the human strength in people.

NoteFrom verse 8 to verse 11 Krishna shows the divine in the finest quality of each thing. This passage is a short preview of chapter 10, which is given to the Lord's glories.

पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ
जीवनं सर्वभूतेषु तपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु ॥ ७.९ ॥

Punyo gandhah prithivyam cha tejash chasmi vibhavasau
Jivanam sarvabhuteshu tapash chasmi tapasvishu

MeaningI am the pure fragrance in the earth, the brightness in fire, the life in all beings, and the austerity in those who practise austerity.

बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम्
बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ॥ ७.१० ॥

Bijam mam sarvabhutanam viddhi partha sanatanam
Buddhir buddhimatam asmi tejas tejasvinam aham

MeaningKnow me, Partha, as the eternal seed of all beings. I am the intelligence of the intelligent and the brilliance of the brilliant.

बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम्
धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ॥ ७.११ ॥

Balam balavatam chaham kamaragavivarjitam
Dharmaviruddho bhuteshu kamo 'smi bharatarshabha

MeaningI am the strength of the strong when it is free from desire and attachment. And among beings I am desire that is not against dharma, best of the Bharatas.

NoteThe verse takes care to say that the strength and desire it names are of a certain kind: strength free of craving, and desire that does not oppose dharma. It does not say that all desire is divine.

ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये
मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥ ७.१२ ॥

Ye chaiva sattvika bhava rajasas tamasash cha ye
Matta eveti tan viddhi na tv aham teshu te mayi

MeaningWhatever states of being there are, whether of the quality of clarity, of passion or of dullness, know that they come from me alone. Yet I am not in them. They are in me.

NoteThe three states are the three gunas, sattva (clarity), rajas (passion) and tamas (dullness), which chapters 14 and 17 treat at length. The verse says they come from the Lord and rest in him, without his being limited by them.

त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत्
मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ॥ ७.१३ ॥

Tribhir gunamayair bhavair ebhih sarvam idam jagat
Mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam

MeaningConfused by these three kinds of states made from the qualities of nature, this whole world does not know me, who am beyond them and who do not change.

दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया
मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ ७.१४ ॥

Daivi hy esha gunamayi mama maya duratyaya
Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te

MeaningThis divine power of mine, made of the qualities of nature, is hard to cross. Those who turn to me alone cross over it.

NoteMaya here means the Lord's divine power by which the world appears, made of the three gunas. It is not a word for a mere trick, and teachers read it in more than one way. The verse says that the way across it is to turn to the Lord.

न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः
माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ॥ ७.१५ ॥

Na mam dushkritino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah
Mayayapahritajnana asuram bhavam ashritah

MeaningThe wrongdoers, the confused, the lowest of people, whose knowledge has been carried off by illusion and who have taken to a demonic way of being, do not turn to me.

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन
आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥ ७.१६ ॥

Chaturvidha bhajante mam janah sukritino 'rjuna
Arto jijnasur artharthi jnani cha bharatarshabha

MeaningFour kinds of people of good deeds worship me, Arjuna: the one in distress, the one who wants to know, the one who wants gain, and the one who knows, best of the Bharatas.

NoteThe four kinds of devotee are the one in distress, the one seeking understanding, the one seeking gain, and the one who knows. The Gita does not look down on the first three. It says in 7.18 that all are noble.

तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते
प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः ॥ ७.१७ ॥

Tesham jnani nityayukta ekabhaktir vishishyate
Priyo hi jnanino 'tyartham aham sa cha mama priyah

MeaningOf these, the knower, who is always steady and whose devotion is single-minded, is the best. I am extremely dear to the knower, and the knower is dear to me.

उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम्
आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् ॥ ७.१८ ॥

Udarah sarva evaite jnani tv atmaiva me matam
Asthitah sa hi yuktatma mam evanuttamam gatim

MeaningAll of these are noble. But the knower I regard as my very self. For such a person, with a steady mind, stays in me alone as the highest goal.

NoteThe knower is called the Lord's very self. This is a strong statement of closeness, and it places knowledge and devotion together rather than apart.

बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते
वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥ ७.१९ ॥

Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate
Vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah

MeaningAt the end of many births the person of knowledge turns to me, seeing that Vasudeva is everything. Such a great soul is very hard to find.

NoteThe verse says Vasudeva is everything. Vasudeva is a name of Krishna, as the son of Vasudeva, and in the Vaishnava tradition is the name of the Supreme.

कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः
तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥ ७.२० ॥

Kamais tais tair hritajnanah prapadyante 'nyadevatah
Tam tam niyamam asthaya prakritya niyatah svaya

MeaningThose whose knowledge has been carried off by various desires turn to other deities, following this or that rule, led by their own nature.

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति
तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम् ॥ ७.२१ ॥

Yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah shraddhayarchitum ichchhati
Tasya tasyachalam shraddham tam eva vidadhamy aham

MeaningWhatever form any devotee wishes to worship with faith, I make the faith of that person steady in that very form.

NoteVerses 20 to 23 speak of people who worship other deities. The Gita says the Lord makes their faith steady in the form they have chosen, and gives the results, but it also says the fruit of such worship is limited. Readers in the tradition take the passage as respectful of other paths while holding that devotion to the Lord is higher.

स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्या राधनमीहते
लभते च ततः कामान्मयैव विहितान्हि तान् ॥ ७.२२ ॥

Sa taya shraddhaya yuktas tasya radhanam ihate
Labhate cha tatah kaman mayaiva vihitan hi tan

MeaningHeld by that faith, the person seeks to worship that form, and from it receives the desired things, which in truth are given by me alone.

अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम्
देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥ ७.२३ ॥

Antavat tu phalam tesham tad bhavaty alpamedhasam
Devan devayajo yanti madbhakta yanti mam api

MeaningBut the fruit that those of small understanding receive has an end. Those who worship the gods go to the gods, and my devotees come to me.

अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिमापन्नं मन्यन्ते मामबुद्धयः
परं भावमजानन्तो ममाव्ययमनुत्तमम् ॥ ७.२४ ॥

Avyaktam vyaktim apannam manyante mam abuddhayah
Param bhavam ajananto mamavyayam anuttamam

MeaningThe unwise think of me, who am unseen, as having come into a visible form. They do not know my higher nature, which does not change and which nothing surpasses.

नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥ ७.२५ ॥

Naham prakashah sarvasya yogamayasamavritah
Mudho 'yam nabhijanati loko mam ajam avyayam

MeaningI am not revealed to everyone, covered as I am by my power of yoga. This confused world does not know me as unborn and unchanging.

NoteThe Lord is veiled by what the verse calls yogamaya, his own power to be hidden. This is why, according to the verse, not everyone sees him as he is.

वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन
भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन ॥ ७.२६ ॥

Vedaham samatitani vartamanani charjuna
Bhavishyani cha bhutani mam tu veda na kash chana

MeaningI know the beings of the past, Arjuna, and of the present, and of the future. But no one knows me.

इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वंद्वमोहेन भारत
सर्वभूतानि संमोहं सर्गे यान्ति परंतप ॥ ७.२७ ॥

Ichchhadveshasamutthena dvandvamohena bharata
Sarvabhutani sammoham sarge yanti parantapa

MeaningThrough the confusion of the pairs of opposites that rises from liking and disliking, Bharata, all beings fall into bewilderment at birth, scorcher of foes.

NoteThe pairs of opposites that cloud the mind are liking and disliking, and the experiences that follow from them: pleasure and pain, heat and cold.

येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम्
ते द्वंद्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः ॥ ७.२८ ॥

Yesham tv antagatam papam jananam punyakarmanam
Te dvandvamohanirmukta bhajante mam dridhavratah

MeaningBut those people of virtuous action whose wrongdoing has come to an end are freed from the confusion of the pairs of opposites, and they worship me with firm vows.

जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये
ते ब्रह्म तद्विदुः कृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्म चाखिलम् ॥ ७.२९ ॥

Jaramaranamokshaya mam ashritya yatanti ye
Te brahma tad viduh kritsnam adhyatmam karma chakhilam

MeaningThose who take refuge in me and strive for release from old age and death know that Brahman, and the whole of what concerns the self, and all of action.

NoteThe three words Brahman, adhyatma and karma, and the terms in the last verse, adhibhuta, adhidaiva and adhiyajna, are not explained here. They are taken up as Arjuna's questions at the start of chapter 8.

साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदुः
प्रयाणकालेऽपि च मां ते विदुर्युक्तचेतसः ॥ ७.३० ॥

Sadhibhutadhidaivam mam sadhiyajnam cha ye viduh
Prayanakale 'pi cha mam te vidur yuktachetasah

MeaningThose who know me together with the realm of beings, the realm of the divine and the sacrifice also know me with a steady mind at the time of departing.