Bhagavad Gita 4.9
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 9 of 42
जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः । त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन ॥
janma karma ca me divyam evaṃ yo vetti tattvataḥ | tyaktvā dehaṃ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna ||
Whoever truly knows My divine birth and action — leaving the body, they do not return. They come to Me.
Word by word (3)
- janma karma ca me divyam evaṃ yo vetti tattvataḥ
- — whoever knows My birth and action to be divine in this way — in truth · Janma = birth. Karma = action. Me = My. Divyam = divine (from div = to shine/be divine). Evaṃ = thus, in this way (i.e., as described in V6-8). Yo = whoever. Vetti = knows. Tattvataḥ = in truth, in reality (from tattva = truth/reality + taḥ = ablative suffix). The knowing must be tattvataḥ — not superficially but in genuine depth.
- tyaktvā deham punar janma na eti mām eti
- — having left the body, does not come to rebirth — comes to Me · Tyaktvā = having abandoned (from tyaj = to leave). Deham = the body. Punar janma = rebirth (punar = again). Na eti = does not come. Mām eti = comes to Me. The extraordinary promise: genuine understanding of the divine nature of avatāra breaks the rebirth cycle. Not worship of a historical figure but tattva-knowledge of the principle.
- divyam / tattvataḥ
- — divyam = divine (from div = the sky/heaven; divine = pertaining to the Self-luminous; not merely extraordinary but categorically non-material — Krishna's birth and action are divya because they operate from a different ontological level than human birth-and-death cycles); tattvataḥ = in truth/in accordance with the tattva (tattva = that-ness, the real principle; tathā + tva = the-ness of that; knowing Me divyam is not enough — one must know tattvataḥ, in the precise truth of what the divyam actually means)
Whoever knows the truth of My divine birth and action in this way — having left the body, they do not come to rebirth. They come to Me, O Arjuna.
A modern analogy
Deep understanding transforms. When you genuinely grasp that the universe is not indifferent but structurally responsive — that the dharma-restoration principle is real — your relationship to life and death changes. You no longer operate purely from fear. This is the heart of the verse: that transformation of understanding is itself the liberation.
Take with you
- Tattvataḥ — the knowing must be genuine and deep, not merely intellectual acquaintance.
- The promise connects understanding to liberation: knowing the truth of divine action breaks the cycle.
- Mām eti (comes to Me) — the destination is unity with the source, not a separate heaven.
- This verse is the fruit of the avatāra teaching that came just before — that divine birth is free, and that the Lord comes age after age to protect the good and re-establish dharma: understand that principle deeply and be freed.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
He who knows thus in truth My divine birth and action, he, having abandoned the body, comes not to re-birth; he comes to Me, O Arjuna. [1]
He who knows thus in truth My divine birth and action, having abandoned the body, is not born again; he comes to Me, O Arjuna. [4]
He who knows in truth this my divine birth and work is not reborn when he leaves his body, but comes to me, O Arjuna. [6]
Whoso thus knows My birth divine and My Work divine, when he quits the flesh No more returns to earthly life, but comes to Me. [7]
He who knows this my divine birth and work in its true nature — having abandoned the body, he is not born again. He comes to Me, O Arjuna. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Many, freed from attachment, fear, and anger, purified by knowledge-austerity — have attained My being.
Whoever at death remembers Me alone — leaving the body — attains My very Being. Of this, there is no doubt.
No being — neither on earth nor among the devas in heaven — is free from these three guṇas born of Prakṛti.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
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?
Verse 9 of 42 · back to Chapter 4