Bhagavad Gita 18.78
Spoken by Sanjaya ★ Essential verse · Verse 78 of 78
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः । तत्र श्रीर् विजयो भूतिर् ध्रुवा नीतिर् मतिर् मम ॥
yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ | tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama ||
Where yogeśvara Kṛṣṇa is, where archer Pārtha stands — there abide fortune, victory, flourishing, and steadfast dharma.
Word by word (3)
- yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ
- — yatra… yatra = wherever… wherever (the double yatra creates a universal conditional — not 'in this particular battle' but wherever these two are found, in any time/place/circumstance); yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇaḥ = Krishna the Lord of Yoga (yogeśvara — the same title used by Sañjaya in V75; here it is the closing identification of Krishna: not just the divine charioteer but the Lord/Master of all yoga); Pārthaḥ dhanur-dharaḥ = Arjuna the bearer/wielder of the bow (dhanur = bow; dharaḥ = bearer/wielder; Arjuna defined by his instrument — the bow — the very bow he had dropped at Ch.1 V47)
- tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītiḥ
- — tatra = there (wherever those two are, there this follows): śrīḥ = fortune/prosperity/divine grace (Śrī/Lakṣmī — the goddess of auspiciousness, abundance; the highest boon in the Vedic value system); vijayaḥ = victory (both inner — over moha/delusion — and outer — in righteous action); bhūtiḥ = welfare/expansion/flourishing (bhū = to become/be; the fullness of life); dhruvā nītiḥ = firm/steadfast policy/statecraft (dhruva = fixed/unfailing; nīti = guidance, right conduct, statecraft — the Gita's teaching as the ground of reliable right action). Four goods: Śrī, vijaya, bhūti, dhruvā nīti.
- matir mama
- — matiḥ = opinion/conviction/understanding (from man = to think; mati = the conclusion of considered thought); mama = my (genitive of aham — first person Sañjaya's own declaration). These two words close the Gita: 'This is my conviction.' Sañjaya speaks as a witness, a transmitter, a devotee, and now as a person of wisdom — the one who has heard 700 verses and whose considered conclusion (matiḥ) is this four-fold cosmic promise. The Gita closes not with a formula but with a human being's personal testimony.
Wherever Krishna, the Lord of yoga, is found, and wherever Arjuna the archer stands, there are fortune, victory, prosperity, and steadfast justice — this is my conviction.
A modern analogy
This is the Gita's final equation: wherever Krishna (the Divine Wisdom/Yoga) and Arjuna (the human who has heard, understood, and resolved to act) meet — the result is always fortune, victory, growth, and reliable right conduct. The Gita has always been about this union: the Divine teaching and the human receiving. When that union is complete — when the yogeśvara's wisdom meets the dhanur-dharaḥ's readiness — the world is transformed. This closing verse says: wherever this union happens, in any time or place, the same four fruits flower.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Wherever is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, wherever is Arjuna, the archer, there fortune, victory, prosperity and polity are firm — this is my opinion. [1]
Wherever is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, wherever is Partha the archer, there are prosperity, victory, expansion and firm policy — this is my conviction. [4]
Wherever Krishna the Lord of Yoga is, wherever the son of Pritha who wields the bow is, there fortune, victory, prosperity, and firm policy — such is my conviction. [9]
Wherever Krishna the Lord of Yoga is, and wherever Arjuna the bowman is, there will exist prosperity, victory, happiness, and stable policy — this I believe. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
If you know the soul is indestructible — who kills whom?
No being — neither on earth nor among the devas in heaven — is free from these three guṇas born of Prakṛti.
The duties of Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, and Śūdras are distributed by the guṇas born of their own nature.
Brāhmaṇa dharma: śama, dama, tapas, purity, forbearance, uprightness, knowledge, wisdom, faith — born of svabhāva.
Therefore śāstra is your pramāṇa for kārya-akārya. Know what śāstra declares — then act accordingly in the world.
Verse 78 of 78 · back to Chapter 18