Bhagavad Gita 18.75
Spoken by Sanjaya · Verse 75 of 78
व्यासप्रसादाच् छ्रुतवान् एतद् गुह्यम् अहं परम् । योगं योगेश्वरात् कृष्णात् साक्षात् कथयतः स्वयम् ॥
vyāsa-prasādāc chrutavān etad guhyam ahaṃ param | yogaṃ yogeśvarāt kṛṣṇāt sākṣāt kathayataḥ svayam ||
Through Vyāsa's grace, I heard this supreme secret Yoga directly from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, speaking Himself.
Word by word (3)
- vyāsa-prasādāc chrutavān etad guhyam ahaṃ param
- — vyāsa-prasādāt = through the grace/favour of Vyāsa (the sage Vyāsa/Vedavyāsa, compiler of the Mahabharata, granted Sañjaya the divine sight and hearing for reporting the battle and the Gita; prasāda = grace, lit. 'making clear/pure'); chrutavān = I have heard (past active participle, first person: 'one who has heard' = aham); etad = this; guhyam = secret/mystery (from guh = to conceal; the most profound knowledge); param = supreme
- yogaṃ yogeśvarāt kṛṣṇāt
- — yogam = yoga (the entire teaching of the Gita as Yoga — both the general yoga and specifically the bhakti-yoga culmination); yogeśvarāt = from the Lord of Yoga (yoga + īśvara = Lord; yogeśvara is one of Krishna's central epithets — the one who commands, embodies, and gives the gift of yoga); kṛṣṇāt = from Krishna (ablative; hearing FROM Krishna — the source is unambiguous)
- sākṣāt kathayataḥ svayam
- — sākṣāt = directly, face-to-face (lit. 'with eyes/witnesses'; in-person; not through any intermediary); kathayataḥ = speaking/telling (present participle, genitive: from Him who was speaking); svayam = himself, personally (svayam = the self; emphatic: not through another, not symbolically, but He Himself speaking) — Sañjaya's testimony: I heard the supreme yoga from the Lord of Yoga Himself, speaking in person, directly
Through the grace of Vyāsa, I (Sañjaya) have heard this supreme and most secret Yoga directly from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, Himself speaking in person.
A modern analogy
This verse is Sañjaya's source citation — the ancient equivalent of 'I was in the room where it happened.' A journalist reports: 'Through my editor's assignment (vyāsa-prasādāt), I was present and heard directly from the President himself (sākṣāt svayam) this most confidential policy (guhyam param).' Sañjaya's special gift was Vyāsa's divine sight and hearing — the technology of transmission that allows the Gita to be known at all.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Through the grace of Vyasa have I heard this Supreme and most secret Yoga direct from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, Himself speaking. [1]
Through the grace of Vyasa have I heard this supreme and most profound Yoga, direct from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, Himself speaking. [4]
By favour of Vyasa have I heard this supreme mystery of devotion from Krishna, the Lord of devotion, himself speaking face to face. [9]
Through Vyasa's grace have I heard this supreme mystery of Yoga from the Lord of Yoga Himself, Krishna, speaking in person. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Taking refuge in ego, power, arrogance, kāma, krodha — they hate Me in their own bodies and in others.
At the end of many births, the wise takes refuge in Me — 'Vāsudeva is all.' That great soul is exceedingly rare.
Taking refuge in Me for liberation from old age and death — they know Brahman, Adhyātma, and all of Karma.
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
This most secret śāstra spoken — knowing it, one becomes truly wise and kṛta-kṛtya: all duties fulfilled.
Verse 75 of 78 · back to Chapter 18