Bhagavad Gita 10.1
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 1 of 42
श्रीभगवानुवाच | भूय एव महाबाहो श्रृणु मे परमं वचः | यत्तेऽहं प्रीयमाणाय वक्ष्यामि हितकाम्यया ||१||
śrī-bhagavān uvāca | bhūya eva mahā-bāho śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥ | yat te'haṃ prīyamāṇāya vakṣyāmi hita-kāmyayā || 1 ||
Again, O mighty-armed — hear My supreme word: I speak it to you who love Me, out of desire for your welfare.
Word by word (3)
- bhūya eva śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥ
- — Again — hear My supreme word · bhūyaḥ = again, once more (from √bhū = to be; bhūyaḥ = 'again, further, moreover' — indicating continuation of the teaching after Ch.9's close). eva = indeed, again (emphatic — 'again indeed'). śṛṇu = hear! (imperative √śru = to hear; second person singular command — direct, intimate instruction). me = My (genitive — 'of Me'). paramaṃ vacaḥ = supreme word/speech (parama = highest, supreme; vacas = word, speech — paramāṃ vacaḥ = 'the supreme word, the highest teaching'). Context: Ch.9 closed with V34's complete four-fold bhakti instruction (man-manā/mad-bhakta/mad-yājī/namaskuru) and the promise mām evaiṣyasi. Ch.10 now opens with bhūyaḥ eva — 'Again, hear.' This signals not a completely new subject but a continuation and deepening. Having taught the PRACTICE in Ch.9 (especially V34), Krishna now teaches the KNOWLEDGE that deepens and sustains the practice: His vibhūtis (manifestations). The bhūyaḥ eva creates a natural bridge between the two chapters.
- mahā-bāho
- — O mighty-armed one · mahā-bāho = O mighty-armed (mahā = great; bāhu = arm; vocative mahā-bāho = 'O you of great arms'). This is one of Krishna's most frequent epithets for Arjuna in the Gita — it acknowledges Arjuna's warrior identity and strength while the deeper teaching it introduces moves beyond physical prowess to spiritual knowledge. The mighty arms that Arjuna is being called upon to use in battle will be guided by the knowledge Krishna is about to give. Contrast: mahā-bāho (physical power) + what follows (wisdom that transcends physical power). The Gita consistently honors Arjuna's warrior identity while training his understanding to guide it wisely.
- yat te'haṃ prīyamāṇāya vakṣyāmi hita-kāmyayā
- — Which I will declare to you who are delighted — out of desire for your welfare · yat = which (what I am about to declare). te = to you (dative). ahaṃ = I. prīyamāṇāya = to you who are delighted/who love (prīyamāṇa = present participle passive of √prī = to please, to love; prīyamāṇāya = 'to you who are being pleased, who are well-pleased, who delight' — indicating Arjuna's receptive, loving state). vakṣyāmi = I will declare (future of √vac = to speak; vakṣyāmi = 'I will speak, I will declare'). hita-kāmyayā = out of desire for your welfare (hita = welfare, benefit, good; kāmyā = desire for; hita-kāmyayā = 'out of desire for your welfare/benefit'). The phrase hita-kāmyayā (out of desire for your welfare) is Krishna's explicit statement of motivation: He teaches this knowledge because He desires Arjuna's hita (welfare). This establishes the teaching relationship: not a guru lecturing from superiority but a friend who teaches out of love and care. Compare V18.65's 'priyo'si me' (you are dear to Me) — hita-kāmyayā in V1 and priyo'si me in V18.65 together form the Gita's frame of divine love for the student.
Once more, O mighty-armed one, hear My supreme word, which I shall speak to you, who delight in it, for your own good.
A modern analogy
A master teacher who has just explained HOW to meditate (the technique — Ch.9's bhajasva mām) now says: 'Hear me further — I'll tell you WHY this works, what you're actually connecting to when you practice.' The 'again' is not repetition but deepening: Ch.10's vibhūti knowledge gives the meditator something to connect with during Ch.9's practice. The more you know what you're connecting to, the more alive the practice becomes.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's bhūyaḥ eva (again) does not mean Krishna is repetitive or that what follows is merely a summary of what came before. The 'again' signals a new depth of the SAME teaching: Chapter 9 gave the practice — the four-fold instruction to fix the mind on the divine, be His devotee, worship Him, and bow to Him; Chapter 10 gives the knowledge that enriches the practice (the divine manifestations, the vibhūtis). The two chapters are complementary: practice without knowledge is mechanical; knowledge without practice is theoretical. Chapters 9 and 10 together = practice plus knowledge.
Take with you
- This verse's hita-kāmyayā (out of desire for your welfare) is the model for all teaching: Krishna teaches not to demonstrate knowledge but because He desires Arjuna's welfare. Any genuine teaching has this motivation: the teacher's desire for the student's benefit. Check your own teaching and advice-giving: is it from desire for their welfare, or from something else?
- This verse's prīyamāṇāya (to you who delight and love) is the receptivity condition: the supreme word is given to the one who is delighted, who loves the teacher and the teaching. This is not exclusion but description: the deepest teachings require an open, loving receptivity to enter. The verse shows the ideal student state: delighted, loving, receptive.
- This verse is the bridge between Chapters 9 and 10: read the four-fold instruction that closed Chapter 9 together with this opening. The closing of Chapter 9 was the practice instruction — fix the mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, bow to Me. This verse — 'again, hear' — now gives the knowledge that enriches that practice. Practice (Chapter 9) plus knowledge (Chapter 10) equals complete vibhūti-yoga.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
[V1 index corrupted in OCR] — The Blessed Lord said: Again, O mighty-armed, listen to My supreme word, which I, wishing thy welfare, will declare to thee who art delighted. [4]
Hear again, O thou of mighty arms, my supreme words, which unto thee who art well pleased I will declare because I am anxious for thy welfare. [6]
Hear farther yet, thou Long-Armed Lord! these latest words I say— / Uttered to bring thee bliss and peace, who lovest Me alway— [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Fix mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, bow to Me — thus, with Me as supreme goal, you shall come to Me.
Mind-in-Me, devotee, worshiper, bow to Me — you will come to Me; truly I promise, you are dear to Me.
For those freed from desire and anger, with controlled minds, knowing the Self — brahma-nirvāṇa exists on all sides.
Among weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows, Kāmadhuk; among progenitors, Kāmadeva; among serpents, Vāsuki.
Darkness, inertness, heedlessness, and delusion arise — know that tamas is predominant.
Driven by insatiable kāma, hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, gripping false notions through moha — impure resolves.
Verse 1 of 42 · back to Chapter 10