Bhagavad Gita

भगवद् गीता

Text & Audio

with paraphrase

Chapter 7

1. Audio

By Swami Brahmananda
Duet
By Jagannath Vedalankar

श्रीभगवानुवाच:

मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः ।

असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ॥

śrībhagavānuvāca:

mayyāsaktamanāḥ pārtha yogaṃ yuñjanmadāśrayaḥ,

asaṃśayaṃ samagraṃ māṃ yathā jñāsyasi tacchṛṇu.

The Blessed Lord said: Hear, O Partha, how by practising Yoga with a mind attached to me and with me as ashraya (the whole basis, lodgement, point of resort of the conscious being and action) thou shalt know me without any remainder of doubt, integrally.

ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः ।

यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते ॥

jñānaṃ te’haṃ savijñānamidaṃ vakṣyāmyaśeṣataḥ,

yajjñātvā neha bhūyo’nyajjñātavyamavaśiṣyate.

I will speak to thee without omission or remainder the essential knowledge, attended with all the comprehensive knowledge, by knowing which there shall be no other thing here left to be known.

मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये ।

यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥

manuṣyāṇāṃ sahasreṣu kaścidyatati siddhaye,

yatatāmapi siddhānāṃ kaścinmāṃ vetti tattvataḥ.

Among thousands of men one here and there strives after perfection, and of those who strive and attain to perfection one here and there knows me in all the principles of my existence.

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।

अहंकार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥

bhūmirāpo’nalo vāyuḥ khaṃ mano buddhireva ca,

ahaṃkāra itīyaṃ me bhinnā prakṛtiraṣṭadhā.

The five elements (conditions of material being), mind (with its various senses and organs), reason, ego, this is my eightfold divided Nature.

अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।

जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥

apareyamitastvanyāṃ prakṛtiṃ viddhi me parām,

jīvabhūtāṃ mahābāho yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat.

This the lower. But know my other Nature different from this, O mighty-armed, the supreme which becomes the Jiva and by which this world is upheld.

एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय ।

अहं कृत्स्नस्य जगतः प्रभवः प्रलयस्तथा ॥

etadyonīni bhūtāni sarvāṇītyupadhāraya,

ahaṃ kṛtsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ pralayastathā.

Know this to be the womb of all beings. I am the birth of the whole world and so too its dissolution.

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किंचिदस्ति धनंजय ।

मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥

mattaḥ parataraṃ nānyatkiṃcidasti dhanaṃjaya,

mayi sarvamidaṃ protaṃ sūtre maṇigaṇā iva.

There is nothing else supreme beyond Me, O Dhananjaya. On Me all that is here is strung like pearls upon a thread.

रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः ।

प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ॥

raso’hamapsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśisūryayoḥ,

praṇavaḥ sarvavedeṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṃ nṛṣu.

I am taste in the waters, O son of Kunti, I am the light of sun and moon, I am pranava (the syllable OM) in all the Vedas, sound in ether and manhood in men.

पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ ।

जीवनं सर्वभूतेषु तपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु ॥

puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāṃ ca tejaścāsmi vibhāvasau,

jīvanaṃ sarvabhūteṣu tapaścāsmi tapasviṣu.

I am pure scent in earth and energy of light in fire; I am life in all existences, I am the ascetic force of those who do askesis.

बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् ।

बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ॥

bījaṃ māṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ viddhi pārtha sanātanam,

buddhirbuddhimatāmasmi tejastejasvināmaham.

Know me to be the eternal seed of all existences, O son of Pritha. I am the intelligence of the intelligent, the energy of the energetic.

बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् ।

धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ॥

balaṃ balavatāṃ cāhaṃ kāmarāgavivarjitam,

dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo’smi bharatarṣabha.

I am the strength of the strong devoid of desire and liking. I am in beings the desire which is not contrary to dharma, O Lord of the Bharatas.

ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये ।

मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥

ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasāstāmasāśca ye,

matta eveti tānviddhi na tvahaṃ teṣu te mayi.

And as for the secondary subjective becomings of Nature, bhavah (states of mind, affections of desire, movements of passion, the reactions of the senses, the limited and dual play of reason, the turns of the feeling and moral sense), which are sattwic, rajasic and tamasic, they are verily from me, but I am not in them, it is they that are in me.

त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् ।

मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ॥

tribhirguṇamayairbhāvairebhiḥ sarvamidaṃ jagat,

mohitaṃ nābhijānāti māmebhyaḥ paramavyayam.

By these three kinds of becoming which are of the nature of the gunas, this whole world is bewildered and does not recognise Me supreme beyond them and imperishable.

दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।

मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥

daivī hyeṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā,

māmeva ye prapadyante māyāmetāṃ taranti te.

This is my divine Maya of the gunas and it is hard to overcome; those cross beyond it who approach Me.

न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः ।

माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ॥

na māṃ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ,

māyayāpahṛtajñānā āsuraṃ bhāvamāśritāḥ.

The evil-doers attain not to Me, souls bewildered, low in the human scale; for their knowledge is left away from them by Maya and they resort to the nature of being of the Asura.

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन ।

आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥

caturvidhā bhajante māṃ janāḥ sukṛtino’rjuna,

ārto jijñāsurarthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha.

Among the virtuous ones who turn towards Me (the Divine) with devotion, O Arjuna, there are four kinds of bhaktas, the suffering, the seeker for good in the world, the seeker for knowledge, and those who adore Me with knowledge, O Lord of the Bharatas.

तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते ।

प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः ॥

teṣāṃ jñānī nityayukta ekabhaktirviśiṣyate,

priyo hi jñānino’tyarthamahaṃ sa ca mama priyaḥ.

Of those the knower. who is ever in constant union with the Divine, whose bhakti is all concentrated on Him, is the best, he loves Me perfectly and is My beloved.

उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम् ।

आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् ॥

udārāḥ sarva evaite jñānī tvātmaiva me matam,

āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā māmevānuttamāṃ gatim.

Noble are all these without exception, but the knower is verily my self: for as his highest goal he accepts Me, the Purushottama with whom he is in union.

बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते ।

वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥

bahūnāṃ janmanāmante jñānavānmāṃ prapadyate,

vāsudevaḥ sarvamiti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ.

At the end of many births the man of knowledge attains to Me. Very rare is the great soul who knows that Vasudeva, the omnipresent Being, is all that is.

कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः ।

तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥

kāmaistaistairhṛtajñānāḥ prapadyante’nyadevatāḥ,

taṃ taṃ niyamamāsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā.

Men are led away by various outer desires which take from them the working of the inner knowledge, they resort to other godheads and they set up this or that rule, which satisfies the need of their nature.

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति ।

तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम् ॥

yo yo yāṃ yāṃ tanuṃ bhaktaḥ śraddhayārcitumicchati,

tasya tasyācalāṃ śraddhāṃ tāmeva vidadhāmyaham.

Whatever form of Me any devotee with faith desires to worship, I make that faith of his firm and undeviating.

स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते ।

लभते च ततः कामान्मयैवः विहितान्हितान् ॥

sa tayā śraddhayā yuktastasyārādhanamīhate,

labhate ca tataḥ kāmānmayaivaḥ vihitānhitān.

He endowed with that faith worships that form; and when by the force of that faith in his cult and worship he gets his desires, it is I myself who (in that form) give these fruits.

अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् ।

देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥

antavattu phalaṃ teṣāṃ tadbhavatyalpamedhasām,

devāndevayajo yānti madbhaktā yānti māmapi.

But these fruits are temporary, sought after by those who are of petty intelligence and unformed reason. To the gods go the worshippers of the gods, but my devotees come to Me.

अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिमापन्नं मन्यन्ते मामबुद्धयः ।

परं भावमजानन्तो ममाव्ययमनुत्तमम् ॥

avyaktaṃ vyaktimāpannaṃ manyante māmabuddhayaḥ,

paraṃ bhāvamajānanto mamāvyayamanuttamam.

Petty minds think of Me, the unmanifest, as being limited by manifestation, because they know not my supreme nature of being, imperishable, most perfect.

नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः ।

मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥

nāhaṃ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyāsamāvṛtaḥ,

mūḍho’yaṃ nābhijānāti loko māmajamavyayam.

Nor am I revealed to all, enveloped in My Yogamaya; this bewildered world knows Me not, the unborn, the imperishable.

वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन ।

भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन ॥

vedāhaṃ samatītāni vartamānāni cārjuna,

bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni māṃ tu veda na kaścana.

I know all past and all present and future existences, O Arjuna, but Me none yet knows.

इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत ।

सर्वभूतानि संमोहं सर्गे यान्ति परंतप ॥

icchādveṣasamutthena dvandvamohena bhārata,

sarvabhūtāni saṃmohaṃ sarge yānti paraṃtapa.

By the delusion of the dualities which arises from wish and disliking, O Bharata, all existences in the creation are led into bewilderment.

येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम् ।

ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः ॥

yeṣāṃ tvantagataṃ pāpaṃ janānāṃ puṇyakarmaṇām,

te dvandvamohanirmuktā bhajante māṃ dṛḍhavratāḥ.

But those men of virtuous deeds, in whom sin is come to an end, they, freed from the delusion of the dualities, worship Me, steadfast in the vow of self-consecration.

जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये ।

ते ब्रह्म तद्विदुः कृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्म चाखिलम् ॥

jarāmaraṇamokṣāya māmāśritya yatanti ye,

te brahma tadviduḥ kṛtsnamadhyātmaṃ karma cākhilam.

Those who have resort to Me as their refuge, those who turn to Me in their spiritual effort towards release from age and death (from the mortal being and its limitations), come to know that Brahman and all the integrality of the spiritual nature and the entirety of Karma.

साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदुः ।

प्रयाणकालेऽपि च मां ते विदुर्युक्तचेतसः ॥

sādhibhūtādhidaivaṃ māṃ sādhiyajñaṃ ca ye viduḥ,

prayāṇakāle’pi ca māṃ te viduryuktacetasaḥ.

Because they know Me and know at the same time the material and the divine nature of being and the truth of the Master of sacrifice, they keep knowledge of Me also in the critical moment of their departure from physical existence and have at that moment their whole consciousness in union with Me (the Purushottama).