Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 17
कथं विद्यामहं योगिंस्त्वां सदा परिचिन्तयन्।
केषु केषु च भावेषु चिन्त्योऽसि भगवन्मया।।
केषु केषु च भावेषु चिन्त्योऽसि भगवन्मया।।
kathaṁ vidyām ahaṁ yogins tvāṁ sadā paricintayan
keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu cintyo ’si bhagavan mayā
also searched as "katham vidyam aham yogins tvam sada parichintayan"
Translation
How can I, Your devotee, know You by constantly meditating on You? And in what ways, O Lord, should I meditate on You?
Vāṇi's rendering
How shall I know you as I keep you always in mind? In which forms should I look for you?
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कथम्kathaṁ | how |
| विद्याम्vidyām | may I know, come to recognise |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I |
| योगिन्yogin | O master of yoga (appears as yogins in the verse — the final n takes an s before tvāṁ) |
| त्वाम्tvāṁ | you |
| सदाsadā | always, at every hour |
| परिचिन्तयन्paricintayan | keeping in mind, dwelling on you continuously |
| केषुkeṣu | in which |
| केषुkeṣu | in which (repeated: in which and which particular ones) |
| चca | and |
| भावेषुbhāveṣu | in what forms, states, aspects of being |
| चिन्त्यःcintyaḥ | to be thought of, to be held in mind |
| असिasi | are you (written 'si after cintyo by sandhi) |
| भगवन्bhagavan | O Bhagavān, O blessed one |
| मयाmayā | by me |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 17 mean?
Arjuna asks Krishna two things at once. How do I keep you in mind without pause — sadā, always? And in which forms should I search for you? He is no longer asking what is true. He is asking how a person actually lives with what he has heard.
What does katham vidyam aham yogins tvam sada parichintayan mean?
How shall I know you while holding you always in mind? Arjuna calls Krishna yogin — the one who joins. Knowing here is not information gathered once; it is recognition that must be renewed in every hour, including the loud and ordinary ones.
Why does Arjuna ask in which forms he should think of Krishna?
Because the mind will go outward regardless. Arjuna does not fight that; he asks that the outward things themselves become places where Krishna is found. It is a request for landmarks — bhāveṣu, in these forms and those — so attention has somewhere to rest.
How can I remember God constantly in daily life?
Arjuna's question is exactly yours, and Krishna answers it in the verses that follow by pointing at things: rivers, mountains, seasons, speech. Remembrance is trained by looking, not by straining. Let the ordinary objects of your day carry the name, and the mind follows them home.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has just been told he cannot be told everything. He does not press for the rest of the list. He asks something smaller and harder: how do I hold you in mind while the day goes on? Not how to think about Krishna in a quiet hour — sadā, always, through the walking and the arguing and the sleep. And then the second question: in which forms? Show me where to look. This is the question of a man who has stopped wanting information and started wanting practice. Ask it of your day. The answer comes back not as a fact but as where your eyes rest.