Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7: ज्ञानविज्ञानयोगः
Thirty verses. The two natures of the Lord, the world strung on him like gems on a thread, the maya that is hard to cross, and the four kinds of people who worship him are here.
Tap any verse card to open its page with the word-by-word meaning. Pages are ready for every verse of this chapter.
मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः।
असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ॥ 1 ॥Meaning of verse 7.1 →2ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः।
यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते ॥ 2 ॥Meaning of verse 7.2 →3मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये।
यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥ 3 ॥Meaning of verse 7.3 →4भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च।
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥ 4 ॥Meaning of verse 7.4 →5अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम्।
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥ 5 ॥Meaning of verse 7.5 →6एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय।
अहं कृत्स्नस्य जगतः प्रभवः प्रलयस्तथा ॥ 6 ॥Meaning of verse 7.6 →7मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय।
मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥ 7 ॥Meaning of verse 7.7 →8रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः।
प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ॥ 8 ॥Meaning of verse 7.8 →9पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ।
जीवनं सर्वभूतेषु तपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु ॥ 9 ॥Meaning of verse 7.9 →10बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम्।
बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ॥ 10 ॥Meaning of verse 7.10 →11बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम्।
धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ॥ 11 ॥Meaning of verse 7.11 →12ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये।
मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥ 12 ॥Meaning of verse 7.12 →13त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत्।
मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ॥ 13 ॥Meaning of verse 7.13 →14दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया।
मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ 14 ॥Meaning of verse 7.14 →15न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः।
माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ॥ 15 ॥Meaning of verse 7.15 →16चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन।
आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥ 16 ॥Meaning of verse 7.16 →17तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते।
प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः ॥ 17 ॥Meaning of verse 7.17 →18उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम्।
आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् ॥ 18 ॥Meaning of verse 7.18 →19बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते।
वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥ 19 ॥Meaning of verse 7.19 →20कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः।
तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥ 20 ॥Meaning of verse 7.20 →21यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति।
तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम् ॥ 21 ॥Meaning of verse 7.21 →22स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते।
लभते च ततः कामान्मयैव विहितान्हि तान् ॥ 22 ॥Meaning of verse 7.22 →23अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम्।
देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥ 23 ॥Meaning of verse 7.23 →24अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिमापन्नं मन्यन्ते मामबुद्धयः।
परं भावमजानन्तो ममाव्ययमनुत्तमम् ॥ 24 ॥Meaning of verse 7.24 →25नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः।
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥ 25 ॥Meaning of verse 7.25 →26वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन।
भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन ॥ 26 ॥Meaning of verse 7.26 →27इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत।
सर्वभूतानि सम्मोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप ॥ 27 ॥Meaning of verse 7.27 →28येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम्।
ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः ॥ 28 ॥Meaning of verse 7.28 →29जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये।
ते ब्रह्म तद्विदुः कृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्म चाखिलम् ॥ 29 ॥Meaning of verse 7.29 →30साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदुः।
प्रयाणकालेऽपि च मां ते विदुर्युक्तचेतसः ॥ 30 ॥Meaning of verse 7.30 →
ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे ज्ञानविज्ञानयोगो नाम सप्तमोऽध्यायः ॥
About Jnana Vijnana Yoga
The sixth chapter closed with the words ‘the one who worships me with faith is the most steadfast’. The seventh begins to say who the Lord at the centre of that devotion is. In the tradition that sees the Gita as three groups of six chapters, the second group begins here.
The chapter holds both a large picture of the origin of the world and small everyday things. Its special way of seeing finds the Lord in the taste of water, the fragrance of the earth, the light of the moon and the sun, and the intelligence of the intelligent. Its last two verses leave six new words behind, and the eighth chapter opens with the question about them.
How the chapter moves
- Verses 1 to 3: The promise to teach knowledge and realised knowledge in full, and a word on how rare that knowledge is.
- Verses 4 to 7: The lower nature of eight parts, the higher nature that is the principle of life, and the world strung on the Lord like gems on a thread.
- Verses 8 to 12: The taste in water, the fragrance of the earth, the strength of the strong, desire not contrary to dharma: the Lord in the essence of each thing.
- Verses 13 to 15: The delusion of the three gunas, the maya that is hard to cross, surrender as the way across, and those who do not take refuge.
- Verses 16 to 19: The four kinds of devotees, the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth and the wise, and the rare great soul who knows ‘Vasudeva is all’.
- Verses 20 to 23: The worship of other deities, the Lord who makes even that faith firm, and the difference between limited and endless fruit.
- Verses 24 to 28: The error of taking the Lord for an ordinary man, the veil of yoga-maya, the delusion of liking and aversion, and release from it.
- Verses 29 and 30: Six words, Brahman, adhyatma, karma, adhibhuta, adhidaiva and adhiyajna, and remembrance at the time of departure from this world.
The higher nature: three readings
The acharyas understand the ‘jivabhuta’ higher nature of the fifth verse differently. For Shankara it is the knower of the field, the pure nature that is the Lord’s own self. For Ramanuja it is the whole body of conscious selves, different in kind from insentient nature. For Madhva it is Shri, whose nature is consciousness and who holds the life of the jivas.
These pages do not decide between the readings. Wherever the acharyas part, each position is recorded in its own terms.
Four kinds of devotees
The sixteenth verse calls even the distressed and the seeker of wealth ‘sukritinah’, people of merit. Though the wise one is special, the eighteenth verse says ‘all these are noble’. The twenty-first carries this generosity further: whatever form anyone worships with faith, the Lord makes that very faith firm.
Sources: several.
ಪಾಠದಲ್ಲಿ ತಪ್ಪೋ ಬೇರೆ ಪಾಠಾಂತರವೋ ಕಂಡಿತೇ? ನಮಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸಿ.
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