Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 1
श्री भगवानुवाच
इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम्।
विवस्वान् मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत्।।
इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम्।
विवस्वान् मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत्।।
śrī bhagavān uvāca
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt
also searched as "imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam"
Translation
The Lord said, "I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvan; Vivasvan taught it to Manu; Manu declared it to Iksvaku."
Vāṇi's rendering
I taught this timeless yoga to the sun-god Vivasvan; he taught Manu, and Manu taught Ikshvaku.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्री भगवान् उवाचśrī bhagavān uvāca | the Blessed One said |
| इमम्imaṁ | this |
| विवस्वतेvivasvate | to Vivasvan, the sun |
| योगम्yogaṁ | yoga, this way of joining action and knowing |
| प्रोक्तवान्proktavān | declared, taught |
| अहम्aham | I |
| अव्ययम्avyayam | imperishable, never used up |
| विवस्वान्vivasvān | Vivasvan, the sun |
| मनवेmanave | to Manu |
| प्राहprāha | told, handed on |
| मनुःmanuḥ | Manu (sandhi: manur before ikṣvākave) |
| इक्ष्वाकवेikṣvākave | to Ikshvaku, the first king of the solar line |
| अब्रवीत्abravīt | spoke it (sandhi: 'bravīt, the initial a elided) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 1 mean?
Krishna opens the fourth chapter by placing his teaching in a line of descent: he gave it to Vivasvan, the sun; Vivasvan gave it to Manu; Manu gave it to Ikshvaku. The point is age and continuity. This is not advice invented for one man's bad morning. It is old, tested, and still whole.
What does the line 'imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam' mean?
"I taught this timeless yoga to Vivasvan." The weight sits on avyayam — imperishable, unspent. Ages pass, kings die, dynasties end, and the teaching arrives undiminished. Nothing was lost in the handing down. What Arjuna hears on the field is the same thing the sun was given.
Why does Krishna say he taught this yoga to the sun-god?
Because Arjuna needs to know he is not being improvised at. By naming Vivasvan, Manu and Ikshvaku, Krishna shows that this path was entrusted to rulers and lawgivers — people whose lives were made of consequential action. The teaching was built for those who must act, not for those who may withdraw.
What does avyayam mean in this verse?
Avyayam means that which does not diminish, does not run out. Most things wear thin with use and with time. Krishna says this yoga does not. Every generation that has leaned its full weight on it has found it holding, and left it no weaker for the next one.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna answers a battlefield question with a genealogy. Not an argument, not a proof — a line of names running back to the sun. Vivasvan, Manu, Ikshvaku: a sun-god, a lawgiver, a king. Notice who receives this teaching. Not hermits. Men who had to rule, judge, decide, and live with what they decided. The yoga Arjuna has been hearing was never designed for the quiet cave; it was handed to those with the heaviest work in front of them. And it is called avyayam — unspent, undiminished by all that passing. What reaches you now has already carried others through their own impossible mornings.