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Chapter 07 · 30 verses

ज्ञानविज्ञानयोगः

Jñāna-vijñāna-yoga

Knowing and realising

What does it mean to know the divine?

The world that distracts attention can also disclose what sustains it. Krishna asks Arjuna to know him through nature, through devotion, and beyond what either first appears to show.

What happens here

A turn in the
conversation.

Chapter 6 ended with the yogi whose inward being turns toward Krishna in faith. Chapter 7 takes that relationship as its starting point. Krishna promises knowledge joined with realized understanding. The subject is no longer only the discipline of Arjuna's faculties; it is the divine reality toward which those faculties are directed. Knowing about Krishna and knowing him are placed in a demanding relation, one that information alone cannot fulfil.

Krishna names an eightfold lower nature that includes both material elements and inward faculties: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, understanding, and the sense of 'I'. A higher, life-bearing nature sustains the world. All beings arise through these. The teaching therefore does not place mind on one side and a spiritually irrelevant material world on the other. Both must be understood within a larger account of their source.

A sequence of vivid recognitions follows. Krishna is the taste in water, the light of sun and moon, the fragrance in earth, the life of beings, and strength free from grasping. Such statements invite attention to familiar experience while refusing to reduce the divine to any single experience. States arising through the three qualities come from him, yet he is not confined within them. The relation includes presence and transcendence together.

The chapter then considers motives for worship, the limits of desire-driven devotion, and the difficulty of recognizing Krishna's higher being. Those who come in distress, curiosity, hope of prosperity, or knowledge are all called noble, though the person of knowledge is especially dear. The final verses turn toward old age, death, and remembrance at departure. Their compressed terms prepare the questions that Arjuna will ask in Chapter 8.

Krishna

With your mind turned toward me, hear how you may know me fully.

Krishna

I sustain the world, yet the world's changing qualities do not contain me.

Krishna

Many motives bring people to me. Knowledge deepens devotion beyond the pursuit of gifts.

The Dialogue · An editorial account of the exchange

Chapter essence

To know Krishna is to recognize the world's dependence on him without enclosing him within it. Devotion matures as the desire for particular gifts opens toward knowledge of their source.

Key movements

Follow the
argument.

7.1–7

Knowledge and the source of a world

The opening distinguishes knowledge from an understanding that has become real in the knower. Krishna's account of lower and higher nature follows. The lower nature includes the sense of ego along with elements and mental capacities; the higher is life-bearing. The image of gems held on a thread gives the relation an accessible form. The gems remain distinct and visible, while the thread makes their coherence possible. Dependence does not require every dependent thing to become indistinguishable from its source.

7.8–12

Learning to notice what is present

Taste, light, fragrance, vitality, intelligence, and strength become sites of recognition. The list moves through the senses and through human capacities without making every use of a capacity equally admirable. Strength is specified as free from craving and attachment; desire is affirmed where it does not oppose dharma. These qualifications matter. Krishna's presence in a world cannot be invoked to sanctify every impulse within it. Recognition must remain joined to discernment about how a quality is expressed.

7.13–15

The power that conceals

The three qualities shape the changing conditions through which beings perceive. Confusion occurs when those conditions are treated as the whole of reality. Krishna names his divine maya as difficult to cross and refuge in him as the way beyond it. Maya here should not be flattened into the claim that nothing exists or matters. The world has just been described as dependent upon the divine. The problem is a mistaken relation to appearance, source, and the limits of one's own understanding.

7.16–23

From need toward knowledge

Four kinds of worshipper are described without denying the nobility of those who approach through need. Distress and the desire for prosperity can begin a relationship; inquiry can deepen it. The person of knowledge stands foremost because devotion is no longer divided by the pursuit of separate ends. The later account of other deities preserves a theological hierarchy: their gifts are finite, while Krishna is their sustaining source. A careful reading neither erases this hierarchy nor turns it into contempt for living communities.

7.24–30

What cannot be seen by appearance alone

Krishna's visible presence can be misunderstood if his higher being is ignored. His power veils him, while desire and aversion bind beings to opposing experiences. The chapter brings ethical purification, firm commitment, and knowledge into one movement. It ends with terms concerning Brahman, self, action, beings, divine powers, and sacrifice. These are not an ornamental conclusion. Their density creates the next dialogue: Arjuna will ask what they mean and how Krishna can be known at the time of death.

Selected key verses

Stay with the words.

The Sanskrit, an original translation, and a way into the meaning.

Bhagavad Gita 7.7Krishna · in the dialogue

Gems upon a thread

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय ।मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥ ७ ॥
mattaḥ parataraṃ nānyatkiñcidasti dhanañjayamayi sarvamidaṃ protaṃ sūtre maṇigaṇā iva

There is nothing whatsoever higher than me, Dhananjaya. All this is strung upon me as gems are strung upon a thread.

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

The image describes dependence without making the visible world disappear. Gems have their own shapes, yet a thread holds them together. Krishna presents himself as the unsurpassed ground of that relation. The verse follows the account of lower and higher nature, so its image concerns the world's source and coherence rather than a vague resemblance between separate things.

Explore deeper

The thread is easily overlooked because attention rests on the gems. That feature gives the image contemplative force: what sustains experience need not be what first attracts notice. Different traditions understand the relation between Krishna and dependent beings differently. The translation preserves the image's openness while retaining its strong claim that nothing stands above him. It need not be converted either into a denial of the world or into an equation that exhausts the divine in the world.

Bhagavad Gita 7.16Krishna · in the dialogue

Four beginnings of devotion

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन ।आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥ १६ ॥
caturvidhā bhajante māṃ janāḥ sukṛtino’rjunaārto jijñāsurarthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha

Four kinds of people who do good worship me, Arjuna: those in distress, those seeking understanding, those seeking prosperity, and those who know, foremost of the Bharatas.

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

Distress, inquiry, the search for prosperity, and knowledge can each bring a person toward Krishna. The verse names these worshippers as people who do good, and the next verses call all of them noble. A beginning shaped by need is therefore recognized without being treated as the fullest possible relationship.

Explore deeper

The fourfold account is not a diagnosis to impose on another person's inner life. Its purpose within the chapter is to show a movement from particular needs toward undivided knowledge and devotion. The person of knowledge is especially dear because Krishna is no longer merely a route to another desired object. This distinction respects genuine need while questioning a transactional model of worship that would measure the divine relationship only by the gifts received.

Bhagavad Gita 7.19Krishna · in the dialogue

Vasudeva is all

बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते ।वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥ १९ ॥
bahūnāṃ janmanāmante jñānavānmāṃ prapadyatevāsudevaḥ sarvamiti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ

At the end of many births, one who has knowledge turns toward me, understanding, 'Vasudeva is all.' Such a great soul is very rare.

Original King of Dwarka translation · Complete verse

Textual edition ↗Second textual witness ↗

Why this verse matters

The recognition comes at the end of many births, giving knowledge a horizon wider than quick achievement. Vasudeva names Krishna here. The person who knows turns toward him, and the text calls such a great soul rare. Knowledge and devotion are joined in the same movement rather than presented as rival alternatives.

Explore deeper

The phrase 'Vasudeva is all' has been interpreted through different accounts of divine immanence, dependence, and the relation of self to God. It should not be expanded into a metaphysical formula that the verse itself does not spell out. Its immediate context contrasts undivided devotion with the pursuit of finite rewards. The recognition changes what is sought: the sustaining source is no longer treated merely as a means to a separate end.

Read the full chapter

The whole conversation
matters.

All 30 verses, with Sanskrit, IAST transliteration and original King of Dwarka English.

Read Chapter 730 verses · Sanskrit & English

Use the peacock feather above to mark your place. Sources & editions

7.1Krishna

मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः ।असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ॥ १ ॥
mayyāsaktamanāḥ pārtha yogaṃ yuñjanmadāśrayaḥasaṃśayaṃ samagraṃ māṃ yathā jñāsyasi tacchṛṇu

Krishna said: Hear how, with your mind attached to me, practising yoga and taking refuge in me, you will know me fully and without doubt, Partha.

7.2

ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः ।यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते ॥ २ ॥
jñānaṃ te’haṃ savijñānamidaṃ vakṣyāmyaśeṣataḥyajjñātvā neha bhūyo’nyajjñātavyamavaśiṣyate

I will explain this knowledge together with its realized understanding, leaving nothing out. Once it is known, nothing further remains here to be known.

7.3

मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये ।यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥ ३ ॥
manuṣyāṇāṃ sahasreṣu kaścidyatati siddhayeyatatāmapi siddhānāṃ kaścinmāṃ vetti tattvataḥ

Among thousands of people, perhaps one strives for fulfilment. Even among the accomplished who strive, perhaps one knows me as I truly am.

7.4

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥ ४ ॥
bhūmirāpo’nalo vāyuḥ khaṃ mano buddhireva caahaṅkāra itīyaṃ me bhinnā prakṛtiraṣṭadhā

Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, understanding, and the sense of 'I': these are the eight divisions of my nature.

7.5

अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥ ५ ॥
apareyamitastvanyāṃ prakṛtiṃ viddhi me parāmjīvabhūtāṃ mahābāho yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat

This is my lower nature. Know another, higher nature of mine, mighty-armed one: the life-bearing nature by which this world is sustained.

7.6

एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय ।अहं कृत्स्नस्य जगतः प्रभवः प्रलयस्तथा ॥ ६ ॥
etadyonīni bhūtāni sarvāṇītyupadhārayaahaṃ kṛtsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ pralayastathā

Understand that all beings arise from these two. I am the source of the entire world and also its dissolution.

7.7

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय ।मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥ ७ ॥
mattaḥ parataraṃ nānyatkiñcidasti dhanañjayamayi sarvamidaṃ protaṃ sūtre maṇigaṇā iva

There is nothing whatsoever higher than me, Dhananjaya. All this is strung upon me as gems are strung upon a thread.

7.8

रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः ।प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ॥ ८ ॥
raso’hamapsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśisūryayoḥpraṇavaḥ sarvavedeṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṃ nṛṣu

I am the taste in water, son of Kunti, and the radiance of moon and sun; the sacred syllable Om in all the Vedas, sound in space, and human vigour.

7.9

पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ ।जीवनं सर्वभूतेषु तपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु ॥ ९ ॥
puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāṃ ca tejaścāsmi vibhāvasaujīvanaṃ sarvabhūteṣu tapaścāsmi tapasviṣu

I am the pure fragrance in the earth and the brilliance in fire, the life in all beings and the austerity in those who practise austerity.

7.10

बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् ।बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ॥ १० ॥
bījaṃ māṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ viddhi pārtha sanātanambuddhirbuddhimatāmasmi tejastejasvināmaham

Know me as the enduring seed of all beings, Partha. I am the understanding of the discerning and the radiance of the radiant.

7.11

बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् ।धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ॥ ११ ॥
balaṃ balavatāṃ cāhaṃ kāmarāgavivarjitamdharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo’smi bharatarṣabha

I am the strength of the strong, free from craving and attachment. In beings I am desire that does not conflict with dharma, foremost of the Bharatas.

7.12

ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये ।मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥ १२ ॥
ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasāstāmasāśca yematta eveti tānviddhi na tvahaṃ teṣu te mayi

Whatever states arise from clarity, passion, or darkness, know that they come from me alone. Yet I am not contained in them; they are contained in me.

7.13

त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् ।मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ॥ १३ ॥
tribhirguṇamayairbhāvairebhiḥ sarvamidaṃ jagatmohitaṃ nābhijānāti māmebhyaḥ paramavyayam

Confused by these states made of the three qualities, this entire world fails to recognize me, who am beyond them and do not change.

7.14

दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ १४ ॥
daivī hyeṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayāmāmeva ye prapadyante māyāmetāṃ taranti te

This divine power of mine, woven from the qualities, is difficult to cross. Those who take refuge in me alone cross beyond it.

7.15

न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः ।माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ॥ १५ ॥
na māṃ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥmāyayāpahṛtajñānā āsuraṃ bhāvamāśritāḥ

Wrongdoers who are deluded, the lowest among people, do not turn toward me. Their knowledge is carried away by illusion, and they have adopted a demonic disposition.

7.16

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन ।आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥ १६ ॥
caturvidhā bhajante māṃ janāḥ sukṛtino’rjunaārto jijñāsurarthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha

Four kinds of people who do good worship me, Arjuna: those in distress, those seeking understanding, those seeking prosperity, and those who know, foremost of the Bharatas.

7.17

तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते ।प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः ॥ १७ ॥
teṣāṃ jñānī nityayukta ekabhaktirviśiṣyatepriyo hi jñānino’tyarthamahaṃ sa ca mama priyaḥ

Among them, the person of knowledge, continually steadfast and single in devotion, stands foremost. I am exceedingly dear to that person, and that person is dear to me.

7.18

उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम् ।आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् ॥ १८ ॥
udārāḥ sarva evaite jñānī tvātmaiva me matamāsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā māmevānuttamāṃ gatim

All of them are noble. But I regard the person of knowledge as my very self: with an integrated self, that person has taken refuge in me alone as the unsurpassed goal.

7.19

बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते ।वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥ १९ ॥
bahūnāṃ janmanāmante jñānavānmāṃ prapadyatevāsudevaḥ sarvamiti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ

At the end of many births, one who has knowledge turns toward me, understanding, 'Vasudeva is all.' Such a great soul is very rare.

7.20

कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः ।तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥ २० ॥
kāmaistaistairhṛtajñānāḥ prapadyante’nyadevatāḥtaṃ taṃ niyamamāsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā

Those whose understanding is carried away by various desires turn to other deities, adopting particular observances as their own nature directs them.

7.21

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति ।तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम् ॥ २१ ॥
yo yo yāṃ yāṃ tanuṃ bhaktaḥ śraddhayārcitumicchatitasya tasyācalāṃ śraddhāṃ tāmeva vidadhāmyaham

Whatever form a devotee wishes to worship with faith, I make that person's faith in it steady.

7.22

स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते ।लभते च ततः कामान्मयैव विहितान्हि तान् ॥ २२ ॥
sa tayā śraddhayā yuktastasyārādhanamīhatelabhate ca tataḥ kāmānmayaiva vihitānhi tān

Endowed with that faith, the devotee seeks to worship that form and receives the desired things from it, though those gifts are allotted by me alone.

7.23

अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् ।देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥ २३ ॥
antavattu phalaṃ teṣāṃ tadbhavatyalpamedhasāmdevāndevayajo yānti madbhaktā yānti māmapi

But the reward of those with limited understanding comes to an end. Worshippers of the deities go to the deities; my devotees come to me.

7.24

अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिमापन्नं मन्यन्ते मामबुद्धयः ।परं भावमजानन्तो ममाव्ययमनुत्तमम् ॥ २४ ॥
avyaktaṃ vyaktimāpannaṃ manyante māmabuddhayaḥparaṃ bhāvamajānanto mamāvyayamanuttamam

Those without discernment think of me, the unmanifest, as having entered manifestation. They do not know my higher being, which is unchanging and unsurpassed.

7.25

नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः ।मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥ २५ ॥
nāhaṃ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyāsamāvṛtaḥmūḍho’yaṃ nābhijānāti loko māmajamavyayam

Veiled by my power of yoga, I am not apparent to everyone. This bewildered world does not recognize me as unborn and unchanging.

7.26

वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन ।भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन ॥ २६ ॥
vedāhaṃ samatītāni vartamānāni cārjunabhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni māṃ tu veda na kaścana

I know the beings of the past, the present, and the future, Arjuna; but no one knows me.

7.27

इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत ।सर्वभूतानि सम्मोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप ॥ २७ ॥
icchādveṣasamutthena dvandvamohena bhāratasarvabhūtāni sammohaṃ sarge yānti parantapa

Through the confusion of opposing pairs, born of desire and aversion, all beings enter bewilderment at birth, descendant of Bharata, scorcher of foes.

7.28

येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम् ।ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः ॥ २८ ॥
yeṣāṃ tvantagataṃ pāpaṃ janānāṃ puṇyakarmaṇāmte dvandvamohanirmuktā bhajante māṃ dṛḍhavratāḥ

But those whose wrongdoing has come to an end, whose deeds are good, are freed from this confusion of opposites. Firm in their commitment, they worship me.

7.29

जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये ।ते ब्रह्म तद्विदुः कृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्म चाखिलम् ॥ २९ ॥
jarāmaraṇamokṣāya māmāśritya yatanti yete brahma tadviduḥ kṛtsnamadhyātmaṃ karma cākhilam

Those who take refuge in me and strive for release from old age and death understand Brahman, the whole nature of the self, and action in its entirety.

7.30

साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदुः ।प्रयाणकालेऽपि च मां ते विदुर्युक्तचेतसः ॥ ३० ॥
sādhibhūtādhidaivaṃ māṃ sādhiyajñaṃ ca ye viduḥprayāṇakāle’pi ca māṃ te viduryuktacetasaḥ

Those who know me in relation to beings, to the divine, and to sacrifice, with their minds collected, know me even at the time of departure.

A deeper reading

Questions worth
remaining with.

7.4–12

Presence without reduction

The chapter's images can be read either too narrowly or too loosely. To say that Krishna is the taste in water does not mean that a cup of water exhausts the divine. Nor does the statement merely compare two otherwise unrelated things. The surrounding account of nature and source makes a stronger claim about dependence and presence. The familiar world becomes a place of recognition because it is already sustained by what exceeds its visible forms.

Traditions articulate this relation differently, including different accounts of the self's dependence and distinction. The companion should not settle those debates by inserting a single metaphysical slogan. The thread image and the statement that beings are in Krishna while he is not contained in them preserve a productive tension. They allow attention to move toward the world with reverence while also questioning the assumption that sensory or mental experience is a complete measure of reality.

7.11–19

Need is welcomed, then transformed

The four worshippers are not arranged as four permanent types of human worth. Krishna calls all of them noble. Someone may first turn toward the divine because distress has made ordinary securities unavailable. Another may seek an answer or a desired good. The chapter recognizes these beginnings while giving a direction beyond them. The person of knowledge is dear through an undivided relationship, not through having accumulated the largest number of favours.

This distinction also prevents devotion from becoming a promise of guaranteed outcomes. The text does not say that sincere worship will secure every wish or remove every loss on demand. It asks how the motive for worship can mature. The recognition that Vasudeva is all names a horizon in which the divine is no longer approached merely as a means to something else. Devotion and knowledge become mutually deepening rather than competing achievements.

7.20–30

Difference, limitation, and respectful reading

The account of other deities makes a definite claim about their dependence on Krishna and the limited duration of their rewards. It should not be rewritten as if every theological distinction were absent. Equally, describing the text's claim does not require issuing a judgment about the dignity or sincerity of contemporary worshippers. Scripture can be presented accurately without recruiting the reader into hostility toward people who inhabit another tradition.

The closing movement locates the more immediate obstacle within desire, aversion, and confused perception. The chapter's question is not simply which label a person adopts, but how the divine is understood and approached. Its final turn toward death intensifies that inquiry. Can the relation persist when the usual supports of life fall away? Chapter 8 develops the question, carrying this teaching about knowledge and devotion into an account of remembrance, time, and ultimate destination.

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