Bhagavad Gita 18.76
Spoken by Sanjaya · Verse 76 of 78
राजन् संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य संवादम् इमम् अद्भुतम् । केशवार्जुनयोः पुण्यं हृष्यामि च मुहुर् मुहुः ॥
rājan saṃsmṛtya saṃsmṛtya saṃvādam imam adbhutam | keśavārjunayoḥ puṇyaṃ hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ ||
O King, as I recall this wondrous holy dialogue between Keśava and Arjuna again and again, I rejoice again and again.
Word by word (3)
- rājan saṃsmṛtya saṃsmṛtya saṃvādam imam adbhutam
- — rājan = O King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Sañjaya's interlocutor throughout); saṃsmṛtya saṃsmṛtya = remembering and remembering (doubled present participle of sam + smṛ = to fully recollect; the doubling — same word twice — enacts the act of repeated remembrance; saṃ- adds completeness/fullness to smṛti); saṃvādam = dialogue/conversation (the same word as V74); imam = this; adbhutam = wonderful/astonishing (the rasa of wonder — the highest aesthetic response)
- keśavārjunayoḥ puṇyam
- — keśavārjunayoḥ = of Keśava and Arjuna (dual genitive: the two principals of the Gita; Keśava = one with beautiful hair / slayer of the demon Keśī, Krishna's name); puṇyam = holy/meritorious/auspicious (from puṇya = purifying, virtuous; the dialogue is described as puṇya — it itself purifies the hearer)
- hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ
- — hṛṣyāmi = I rejoice/am thrilled (from hṛṣ = to bristle with joy, to be elated; same root as harṣa/roma-harṣaṇa from V74 — now the inner joy); ca = and; muhur muhuḥ = again and again (muhur = repeatedly; doubled for emphasis — the joy is not once-felt but continuously renewed with every act of remembrance). Sañjaya's inner life: the act of remembering the Gita produces inexhaustible joy.
O King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), as I remember and remember this wonderful, sacred dialogue between Keśava (Krishna) and Arjuna, I rejoice again and again.
A modern analogy
This verse and the one that follows are together Sañjaya's personal testimony about what it means to have witnessed and internalised the Gita. He is not reporting — he is rejoicing. Like a musician who performed a perfect concert and can only say: 'Every time I replay it in my mind, joy floods back — again and again.' The Gita is not just a one-time teaching; it is a spring of joy that renews with every act of remembrance.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
O King, as I remember and remember this wonderful and holy dialogue between Kesava and Arjuna, I rejoice again and again. [1]
O King, as I remember and remember this wonderful and holy dialogue between Keshava and Arjuna, I rejoice again and again. [4]
O king! Remembering, remembering this wonderful and holy dialogue between Kesava and Arjuna, I feel delighted again and again. [9]
O king, as I recall this wonderful and righteous dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, I rejoice again and again. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The fully self-realized person has no binding duty — their joy, satisfaction, and fullness come entirely from within.
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
Krishna declares: 'I am the ground of Brahman — the Immortal, the Immutable, eternal Dharma, and perfect Bliss.'
This most secret śāstra spoken — knowing it, one becomes truly wise and kṛta-kṛtya: all duties fulfilled.
One with no ego-doer-sense, whose buddhi is untainted — even while killing all these beings, kills not, is not bound.
Verse 76 of 78 · back to Chapter 18