Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 2
न मे विदुः सुरगणाः प्रभवं न महर्षयः।
अहमादिर्हि देवानां महर्षीणां च सर्वशः।।
अहमादिर्हि देवानां महर्षीणां च सर्वशः।।
na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ prabhavaṁ na maharṣayaḥ
aham ādir hi devānāṁ maharṣīṇāṁ ca sarvaśaḥ
also searched as "na me viduh sura-ganah prabhavam na maharshayah"
Translation
Neither the host of gods nor the great sages know My power; for I am indeed the source of the gods and the great sages.
Vāṇi's rendering
Neither the gods nor the great seers know where I begin — for I am the beginning of them all.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not |
| मेme | my, of me |
| विदुःviduḥ | they know |
| सुरगणाःsura-gaṇāḥ | the hosts of shining ones, the gods |
| प्रभवम्prabhavam | origin, the coming-forth, where one begins |
| नna | nor |
| महर्षयःmaharṣayaḥ | the great seers |
| अहम्aham | I |
| आदिःādiḥ | the beginning, the source (appears as ādir before hi) |
| हिhi | indeed, for |
| देवानाम्devānām | of the gods |
| महर्षीणाम्maharṣīṇām | of the great seers |
| चca | and |
| सर्वशःsarvaśaḥ | in every way, wholly |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 2 mean?
It means the search for Krishna's origin cannot succeed from inside creation. The gods and the great seers are themselves effects; they cannot stand behind their own cause and look. Krishna is not hiding. He is simply prior — the beginning of the very beings who would investigate him.
What does na me viduh sura ganah prabhavam teach a seeker?
That ignorance of the source is not a personal failing. Even the ṛṣis stop there. So when your understanding runs out at the edge of the question, you have not fallen short of the gods — you have arrived exactly where they stand. From that honest edge, devotion begins where analysis ends.
If nobody can know Krishna's origin, why does Chapter 10 describe him at length?
Because description is not definition. The vibhūtis that follow are handholds, not a map — places where the immeasurable becomes briefly visible. Krishna gives them so attention has somewhere to rest. He tells you first that the list is incomplete, so you never mistake the handhold for the mountain.
Does this verse say the gods are lesser than Krishna?
It says they are later. The devas are radiant, powerful, long-lived — and still downstream of a beginning they did not witness. Sarvaśaḥ, in every way: their being, their power, their very capacity to know comes from him. Rank is not the point. Sequence is.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
The gods do not know. Sit with that. Beings of light, the great seers who first heard the hymns — none of them can trace Krishna back to his beginning, because they came out of it. What is downstream cannot find the source by looking. Arjuna hears this just before the long catalogue of glories arrives: whatever you are about to be told, it will not be complete. No inventory of the endless ever closes. And you go looking for certainty about where everything started, and call your not-finding a failure. It is not. It is the accurate report of something that was made.