Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 48
न वेदयज्ञाध्ययनैर्न दानै
र्न च क्रियाभिर्न तपोभिरुग्रैः।
एवंरूपः शक्य अहं नृलोके
द्रष्टुं त्वदन्येन कुरुप्रवीर।।
र्न च क्रियाभिर्न तपोभिरुग्रैः।
एवंरूपः शक्य अहं नृलोके
द्रष्टुं त्वदन्येन कुरुप्रवीर।।
na veda-yajñādhyayanair na dānair
na ca kriyābhir na tapobhir ugraiḥ
evaṁ-rūpaḥ śakya ahaṁ nṛ-loke
draṣṭuṁ tvad anyena kuru-pravīra
also searched as "na veda-yajnadhyayanair na danair"
Translation
Neither through the study of the Vedas, nor by sacrifices, nor by recitations of the scriptures, nor by gifts, nor by rituals, nor by strict austerities can I be realized in a form like this in the world of men by anyone else but you. O Arjuna!
Vāṇi's rendering
Not by scripture, sacrifice, study, charity, ritual, or the harshest austerity can any human but you see this form.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not |
| वेदयज्ञाध्ययनैःveda-yajñādhyayanaiḥ | by the recitation of the Vedas and the performance of sacrifices |
| नna | not |
| दानैःdānaiḥ | by gifts, by charity given away |
| नna | not |
| चca | and |
| क्रियाभिःkriyābhiḥ | by rites, by prescribed ritual acts |
| नna | not |
| तपोभिःtapobhiḥ | by austerities |
| उग्रैःugraiḥ | harsh, severe |
| एवंरूपःevaṁ-rūpaḥ | in a form such as this |
| शक्यःśakyaḥ | able to be, possible (the visarga softens before ahaṁ, so the verse reads śakya aham) |
| अहम्aham | I |
| नृलोकेnṛ-loke | in the world of human beings |
| द्रष्टुम्draṣṭum | to be seen |
| त्वत्tvat | than you (final t joins the following word) |
| अन्येनanyena | by anyone else |
| कुरुप्रवीरkuru-pravīra | O foremost hero among the Kurus |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 48 mean?
Krishna names every form of religious effort — Vedic study, sacrifice, charity, ritual, fierce austerity — and says none of them can produce the vision Arjuna has just been given. The viśvarūpa was not a wage paid for work done. It was shown. Arjuna sees because Krishna chose to be seen.
What is the meaning of 'na veda yajnadhyayanair na danair'?
It opens a chain of denials. Not by Vedas and sacrifices, not by gifts, not by rites, not by the harshest tapas. Five roads, all closed. The line is not contempt for practice; it is a refusal to let practice become a transaction that obliges Krishna to appear on schedule.
If spiritual practice cannot grant this vision, why practise at all?
Because practice makes you fit to bear what arrives. Austerity and study steady the hand, quiet the noise, clear the room. They simply do not compel. Keep the discipline and drop the invoice — you are preparing, not purchasing. Arjuna had spent a lifetime in discipline before this moment, and still it came as gift.
Why does Krishna call Arjuna kuru-pravira here?
Because the man trembling before a cosmic form is still the warrior of the Kuru line, and Krishna will not let him forget it. The address pulls Arjuna back toward the field. The vision was never meant to remove him from his life — only to change how he stands in it.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Count what does not work. Recitation, offering, the long study, the gift given away, the rite performed exactly, the body burned down by austerity — Krishna lists the whole inventory of religious effort and sets it aside. None of it purchased this. Arjuna did not earn the vision; he was given eyes. That should unsettle anyone keeping accounts with heaven. The practices are not useless — they clear ground, they steady a shaking hand — but they do not compel Krishna to appear. He appears because he chooses to. Do your practice. Then stop billing it. What you are waiting for is not owed to you, and comes anyway.