Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 37
कस्माच्च ते न नमेरन्महात्मन्
गरीयसे ब्रह्मणोऽप्यादिकर्त्रे।
अनन्त देवेश जगन्निवास
त्वमक्षरं सदसत्तत्परं यत्।।
गरीयसे ब्रह्मणोऽप्यादिकर्त्रे।
अनन्त देवेश जगन्निवास
त्वमक्षरं सदसत्तत्परं यत्।।
kasmāc ca te na nameran mahātman
garīyase brahmaṇo ’py ādi-kartre
ananta deveśa jagan-nivāsa
tvam akṣaraṁ sad-asat tat paraṁ yat
also searched as "kasmac ca te na nameran mahatman"
Translation
(a) And why should they not, O Mahatma, bow down to You who are great, being the first Creator, even of Brahma?
(b) O Infinite, Lord of gods, O You who have the universe as Your abode! You are the imperishable individual self, the existent and the non-existent, and that which is beyond both.
Vāṇi's rendering
How could they not bow? You are older than the Creator himself — the imperishable: being, non-being, and what lies beyond.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कस्मात्kasmāt | for what reason, why (joins with the next word as kasmāc ca) |
| चca | and |
| तेte | to you |
| नna | not |
| नमेरन्nameran | should they bow down |
| महात्मन्mahātman | O vast-souled one |
| गरीयसेgarīyase | to you, who are weightier, greater |
| ब्रह्मणःbrahmaṇaḥ | than Brahmā, the creator (becomes brahmaṇo before api) |
| अपिapi | even (elided to 'py after brahmaṇo) |
| आदिकर्त्रेādi-kartre | to the first maker, the origin of the maker |
| अनन्तananta | O endless one |
| देवेशdeveśa | O lord of the gods |
| जगन्निवासjagan-nivāsa | O dwelling place of all worlds (jagat + nivāsa) |
| त्वम्tvam | you |
| अक्षरम्akṣaram | the imperishable |
| सत्sat | what is, being |
| असत्asat | what is not, non-being |
| तत्tat | that |
| परम्param | beyond, higher than both |
| यत्yat | which |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 37 mean?
Arjuna, still trembling before the vast form, asks how anyone could fail to bow. He names Krishna as prior even to Brahmā — the source of the source — and then as the imperishable, as being and non-being and whatever lies past the pair. It is not flattery. It is a man reporting the size of what he sees.
Why is Krishna called greater than Brahma here?
Brahmā makes the worlds, but Brahmā himself arose. Arjuna is tracing the line backward and finding that it does not end where the scriptures usually stop. Ādi-kartā means the one before the first act. Whatever began, something did not begin — and that unbegun thing is standing in front of him, holding a chariot's reins.
What does it mean that Krishna is being, non-being, and beyond both?
Sat is what has come into form; asat is what has not. Arjuna offers both, then adds tat param — that which is higher — because he knows the pair does not cover it. Language works by dividing. When something cannot be divided, you can only name the halves and then point past them.
What is the meaning of kasmac ca te na nameran mahatman?
"And why should they not bow to you, O vast-souled one?" Arjuna has just watched the perfected beings scatter and salute. His question is rhetorical, but it carries relief in it. The universe's response makes sense to him now. What surprised him a moment ago has become the only reasonable thing anyone could do.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has stopped arguing. The question he asks now is not whether to bow but how anyone could refuse — and he asks it while shaking. Notice what he reaches for: Krishna is older than Brahmā, the maker's maker. Whatever begins, something did not begin. Then the words run out and Arjuna starts stacking opposites — being, non-being, and what stands past both — because no single word will hold. Praise here is not decoration; it is a man discovering the edge of his vocabulary and continuing anyway. You will meet that edge. When you do, do not go quiet. Bow, and keep speaking.