Bhagavad Gita 10.3
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 3 of 42
यो मामजमनादिं च वेत्ति लोकमहेश्वरम् | असम्मूढः स मर्त्येषु सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ||३||
yo mām ajam anādiṃ ca vetti loka-maheśvaram | asaṃmūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate || 3 ||
Who knows Me as unborn, beginningless, Great Lord of worlds — that one is undeluded among mortals, freed from all sin.
Word by word (3)
- yo mām ajam anādim ca vetti loka-maheśvaram
- — Who knows Me as unborn, beginningless, and the great Lord of worlds · yo = who (relative pronoun — 'the one who'). mām = Me (objective — 'Me as the object of knowing'). ajam = unborn (a = not; ja = born — from √jan = to be born; aja = 'not-born, unborn'; this is also a name of Brahman and the divine). anādim = beginningless (a = not; ādi = beginning; anādim = 'without beginning, beginningless'). ca = and. vetti = knows (√vid = to know; present tense — 'knows, understands, realizes'). loka-maheśvaram = great Lord of worlds (loka = world; mahā = great; īśvara = lord/master; loka-maheśvara = 'the great Lord of all worlds'). V3's first half: yo mām ajam anādim ca vetti loka-maheśvaram — 'who knows Me as unborn, beginningless, and the great Lord of worlds.' Note the three qualifications: (1) ajam = unborn (no birth-event — this addresses the question of divine origin from one angle: no particular birth); (2) anādim = beginningless (no temporal start — this addresses origin from the temporal angle: no starting-point in time); (3) loka-maheśvaram = the great Lord of worlds (not just a cosmic principle but the active, sovereign Lord — present in and governing all worlds). These three together constitute the minimum sufficient knowing about the divine that produces liberation.
- asaṃmūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate
- — That one is undeluded among mortals — and freed from all sins · asaṃmūḍhaḥ = undeluded (a = not; saṃmūḍha = deluded, confused; asaṃmūḍha = 'free from delusion, not confused' — from √muh = to be confused, to be deluded). sa = that one, he. martyeṣu = among mortals (martya = mortal, subject to death; martyeṣu = 'among mortals, in the world of the mortal'). sarva-pāpaiḥ = from all sins (sarva = all; pāpa = sin, evil; pāpaiḥ = instrumental plural 'from all sins'). pramucyate = is freed (pra + √muc = to be completely liberated; pramucyate = 'is thoroughly freed, is completely released'). V3's second half: asaṃmūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate — 'that one is undeluded among mortals and freed from all sins.' Two results of the knowing: (1) asaṃmūḍha = non-delusion (the knowing produces the fundamental cognitive clarity that is the beginning of liberation — contrast with V9.11's mūḍhāḥ who don't recognize the divine); (2) sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate = freed from all sins (the knowing purifies — compare V9.1's jñāna-vijñāna-sahitam mokṣyase aśubhāt). The verse's logic: knowing the divine as ajam/anādim/loka-maheśvara = asaṃmūḍha = sarva-pāpa-mukta. Knowing → non-delusion → liberation.
- aja + anādi + loka-maheśvara — the three aspects of divine knowing that produce liberation
- — V3's three qualifications (unborn + beginningless + great Lord) give the CONTENT of the liberating knowledge of the divine · V3 is precise: it doesn't say 'whoever knows Me fully' but 'whoever knows Me as these three things.' The three are: aja (unborn) + anādi (beginningless) + loka-maheśvara (great Lord of worlds). Together they answer the deepest questions about the divine: (1) aja = no birth-event (the divine did not come into being through a birth process); (2) anādi = no temporal beginning (the divine did not start at a point in time — it is prior to time itself); (3) loka-maheśvara = active, sovereign Lord (not just a formless abstract — but the Lord who governs and pervades all worlds). These three together form the MINIMUM SUFFICIENT description of the divine that produces liberation. Not complete knowledge (which V2 says is beyond even gods) but the three essential aspects that dissolve delusion and sin. V3 is thus the practical companion to V2's epistemological humility: you can't know the divine's origin fully (V2), BUT you CAN know these three aspects (V3) — and knowing them is sufficient for liberation. This is deeply practical Gita pedagogy: you don't need omniscience about the divine; you need these three recognitions.
He who knows Me as unborn, beginningless, and the great Lord of the worlds — he, among mortals, is undeluded and freed from all sins.
A modern analogy
In psychology, the difference between an undeluded view of a situation and a deluded one is often three key recognitions: this feeling is temporary (aja = not permanently 'born' into my life), this situation has no ultimate beginning or cause that I must identify and fix (anādi = beginningless), and there is an order and wisdom governing this that I don't fully see (loka-maheśvara = great Lord). These three recognitions dissolve anxiety and open space for wise action — just as this verse's three knowings dissolve delusion and sin.
What it does NOT mean
This verse does not say you must have a complete academic theology of the divine to be freed. The three qualifications (unborn, beginningless, great Lord) are the MINIMUM sufficient content of the liberating knowing. Even the simplest genuine recognition of these three aspects — 'the divine was not born, has no beginning, governs all worlds' — produces the non-delusion that begins liberation. The knowing is accessible to anyone, not just scholars.
Take with you
- This verse's three qualities as a contemplative practice: spend 5 minutes daily with the three recognitions — (1) Ajam: 'the divine was not born, will not die, is not a temporal event' (versus treating the divine as a character who started and will end); (2) Anādim: 'the divine has no beginning in time — it is prior to time itself' (versus looking for when the divine came to be); (3) Loka-maheśvaram: 'the great Lord of all worlds — present in and governing everything' (versus a distant or limited deity). Let these three dissolve whatever current conception of the divine needs clarification.
- This verse is the cognitive test for delusion: knowing these three equals non-delusion. Check: is your current understanding of the divine consistent with these three? If you find yourself thinking 'the divine was born at a specific time,' or 'the divine started at point X,' or 'the divine governs only some worlds but not others' — this verse suggests these are forms of delusion. The correction: unborn plus beginningless plus great Lord.
- This verse's non-delusion is both cognitive and ethical: the non-delusion that comes from knowing the divine produces freedom from all sins. This connection between correct knowing and ethical purity is characteristic of the path of knowledge: right knowledge produces right conduct naturally, not through effort. Correcting the cognitive delusion corrects the ethical situation.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
He who knows Me, birthless and beginningless, the great Lord of worlds — he, among mortals, is undeluded, he is freed from all sins. [4]
Whosoever knoweth me to be the mighty Ruler of the universe and without birth or beginning, he among men, undeluded, shall be liberated from all his sins. [6]
He only knoweth — only he is free of sin, and wise, / Who seeth Me, Lord of the Worlds, with faith-enlightened eyes, / Unborn, undying, unbegun. [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Neither the gods nor the great sages know My origin — for I am the source of them all, in every way.
Fools in human form disregard Me, not knowing My supreme nature as the great Lord of all beings.
Nothing in this world purifies like jñāna. The karma-yogi finds it within themselves in time.
Those who resort to this knowledge attain My own nature — neither reborn at creation nor disturbed at dissolution.
Five causes of action: body-locus, agent, various instruments, diverse efforts, and — fifth — the Divine/Fate.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Verse 3 of 42 · back to Chapter 10