Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 14
सर्वमेतदृतं मन्ये यन्मां वदसि केशव।
न हि ते भगवन् व्यक्तिं विदुर्देवा न दानवाः।।
न हि ते भगवन् व्यक्तिं विदुर्देवा न दानवाः।।
sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yan māṁ vadasi keśava
na hi te bhagavan vyaktiṁ vidur devā na dānavāḥ
also searched as "sarvam etad ritam manye yan mam vadasi keshava"
Translation
I deem as true all that you have said to me, O Krishna. Truly, O Lord, neither the gods nor the demons know your manifestation.
Vāṇi's rendering
All you tell me, I hold true. Neither the gods nor the demons know how you appear.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सर्वम्sarvam | all of it |
| एतत्etat | this (appears as 'etad' before the next word) |
| ऋतम्ṛtam | true, rightly so |
| मन्येmanye | I hold, I take it to be |
| यत्yat | that which (appears as 'yan' before 'mām') |
| माम्mām | to me |
| वदसिvadasi | you tell |
| केशवkeśava | O Keśava — Krishna |
| नna | not |
| हिhi | indeed |
| तेte | your |
| भगवन्bhagavan | O Lord, in whom all splendour rests |
| व्यक्तिम्vyaktim | your appearing, how you show yourself |
| विदुःviduḥ | they know (heard as 'vidur' before 'devāḥ') |
| देवाःdevāḥ | the gods (heard as 'devā' before 'na') |
| नna | nor |
| दानवाःdānavāḥ | the demons |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 14 mean?
Arjuna tells Krishna he accepts every word as true, and then adds that neither devas nor dānavas can grasp how Krishna appears. Acceptance comes first; comprehension does not come at all. He is not claiming to have understood. He is saying he no longer needs to understand before he can stand where he stands.
What does the line sarvam etad ritam manye mean?
It means: all of this, I hold as true. Ṛtam is not merely factual truth but the rightness of things, the way reality actually runs. Arjuna is not agreeing with an argument. He is recognising something as fitting, the way you recognise a face before you can name it.
Why can neither the gods nor the demons know Krishna's form?
Because knowing him is not an achievement of power. Devas have brilliance, dānavas have force, and both fall short — which quietly removes strength and status from the list of qualifications. What remains is what Arjuna does here: he listens, and he holds it true. That is available to you as it was to him.
Is it wrong to accept something I do not understand?
Arjuna does exactly that, and Krishna does not correct him. Some things arrive as understanding; others arrive first as trust and only later, if at all, as sight. The Gītā does not shame the second order. Notice which things in your life you actually live by — few of them were proved to you first.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has just finished listing the sages who praised Krishna — and here he stops leaning on them. All you tell me, I hold true: no more citing witnesses, he takes it on his own word. And in the same breath he admits the thing cannot be witnessed. Gods do not know how Krishna appears. Demons do not know. The highest and the lowest are equally in the dark, so knowing here is not a matter of rank or power. Arjuna trusts before he understands, and that order is not backwards. You will not be shown first and asked to trust afterward.