Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 63
इति ते ज्ञानमाख्यातं गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं मया।विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु।।
iti te jñānam ākhyātaṁ guhyād guhyataraṁ mayā
vimṛśyaitad aśeṣeṇa yathecchasi tathā kuru
also searched as "iti te jnanam akhyatam guhyad guhyataram maya"
Translation
Thus, the knowledge, the mystery of mysteries, has been declared to you by Me. Reflecting on it fully, do as you will.
Vāṇi's rendering
I have told you the secret deeper than every secret. Weigh it fully, completely. Then do as you choose.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| इतिiti | thus, in this way — closing what has been said |
| तेte | to you |
| ज्ञानम्jñānam | the knowing, the wisdom |
| आख्यातम्ākhyātaṁ | has been told, declared aloud |
| गुह्यात्guhyāt | than the secret |
| गुह्यतरम्guhyataraṁ | more secret still, deeper than that |
| मयाmayā | by me |
| विमृश्यvimṛśya | having weighed, turned over, examined (sandhi: vimṛśya + etat) |
| एतत्etat | this — the whole teaching just given |
| अशेषेणaśeṣeṇa | without remainder, leaving nothing out |
| यथाyathā | as, in whatever way (sandhi: yathā + icchasi) |
| इच्छसिicchasi | you wish, you choose |
| तथाtathā | so, in that way |
| कुरुkuru | do, act |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 63 mean?
Krishna marks the end of his teaching. The deepest secret has been spoken, and now it is Arjuna's to examine — aśeṣeṇa, completely, with nothing set aside. Then he may act as he wishes. The teaching is given whole, and the choosing is left whole too.
What does 'iti te jnanam akhyatam guhyad guhyataram maya' mean?
Thus the knowing has been told to you by me — a secret deeper than any secret. Guhyataram is a comparative: not merely hidden, but hidden beneath what is hidden. Krishna is saying he has held nothing back, and that the telling is now finished.
Why does Krishna tell Arjuna to do as he wishes after teaching him?
Because a conviction pressed on you from outside is not conviction. Krishna has argued, revealed, and pleaded for seventeen chapters; he will not finish by overriding Arjuna's will. He gives the teaching and returns the choice. What you accept under compulsion you have not accepted.
What does it mean to reflect on the Gita 'fully, without remainder'?
Aśeṣeṇa asks that no part be left conveniently unexamined — not the verses that comfort you, not the ones that unsettle you. Weigh the whole of it against the whole of your life. Krishna trusts that teaching to survive being tested. Most of us test only the easy half.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Seventeen chapters, and then this: do as you choose. Krishna does not command Arjuna at the end; he hands the whole teaching over and steps back. The secret deeper than every secret is told, and then the telling stops — because a truth accepted under pressure is not accepted at all. Weigh it fully, he says. Aśeṣeṇa — leave no part unexamined. This is why the Gītā can be argued with. You are not asked to believe it on the strength of who said it; you are asked to test it against your own life and then act. The freedom was never taken from you.