Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 53
नाहं वेदैर्न तपसा न दानेन न चेज्यया।
शक्य एवंविधो द्रष्टुं दृष्टवानसि मां यथा।।
शक्य एवंविधो द्रष्टुं दृष्टवानसि मां यथा।।
nāhaṁ vedair na tapasā na dānena na cejyayā
śakya evaṁ-vidho draṣṭuṁ dṛṣṭavān asi māṁ yathā
also searched as "naham vedair na tapasa na danena na cejyaya"
Translation
Sri Krishna says, "I cannot be seen in such a form as You have seen Me, not by the Vedas, nor by austerities, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifice."
Vāṇi's rendering
Not by scripture, not by austerity, not by charity or sacrifice can I be seen as you have seen me.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I (Krishna); the sandhi na + ahaṁ gives nāhaṁ |
| वेदैःvedair | by the Vedas, by scripture and its recitation |
| नna | nor |
| तपसाtapasā | by austerity, by hard self-discipline |
| नna | nor |
| दानेनdānena | by giving, by charity |
| नna | nor |
| चca | and; the sandhi na + ca + ijyayā gives na cejyayā |
| इज्ययाijyayā | by sacrifice, by ritual offering |
| शक्यःśakya | possible, able to be |
| एवंविधःevaṁ-vidho | in such a form, of this kind |
| द्रष्टुम्draṣṭuṁ | to be seen |
| दृष्टवान्dṛṣṭavān | having seen |
| असिasi | you are |
| माम्māṁ | me |
| यथाyathā | as, in the way that |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 53 mean?
Krishna, still wearing the form Arjuna has just witnessed, says plainly that no scripture, no austerity, no charity, no sacrifice can produce that sight. The four pillars of religious life are named and set down. What was given to Arjuna came as gift, not as wage. The vision was never something earned.
What does the line 'naham vedair na tapasa na danena na cejyaya' mean?
The line lists four roads and closes all of them: vedaiḥ — by the Vedas; tapasā — by austerity; dānena — by giving; ijyayā — by sacrifice. Each na is a door shutting. Krishna is not diminishing these practices; He is saying they do not reach where Arjuna's eyes have just been. They prepare a person; they do not produce the sight.
Does this verse say the Vedas and austerity are useless?
No. They are said to be insufficient for this one thing — the seeing of Krishna in the universal form. Study, austerity, giving and sacrifice shape a life and steady a mind, and the Gītā asks for all of them elsewhere. Here Krishna is drawing a boundary, not passing a verdict.
If not by these, how can Krishna be seen in this form?
The next verse answers it: by bhakti alone, undivided. Not by adding a fifth discipline to the four, but by the one movement that cannot be counted or performed — love turned wholly toward Krishna. Arjuna did nothing to deserve the sight. He asked, and he was near, and it was given.
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Commentary
Krishna has just shown Arjuna the form no one has seen, and now He names the price — and the price is not a price. Recitation does not buy it. Fasting does not buy it. Neither does the gift given, nor the fire fed. All four are the finest things a devout life can offer, and Krishna lists them only to set them aside. They were never wrong; they were simply never currency. What remains, He says two verses later, is love — the one thing that cannot be performed. So look at what you are accumulating. Merit stacks. Seeing is given.