Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 7, Verse 19
बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते।
वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः।।
वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः।।
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
also searched as "bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate"
Translation
At the end of many births, the man of knowledge finds refuge in Me, realizing that 'Vasudeva is all.' It is very difficult to find such a great-souled person.
Vāṇi's rendering
After many births, the wise one comes to me at last, seeing that I am everything. Such souls are rare.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बहूनाम्bahūnāṁ | of many |
| जन्मनाम्janmanām | of births |
| अन्तेante | at the end, at the close |
| ज्ञानवान्jñānavān | the one who has come to know |
| माम्māṁ | to me |
| प्रपद्यतेprapadyate | comes, takes refuge |
| वासुदेवःvāsudevaḥ | Vāsudeva — Krishna himself |
| सर्वम्sarvam | everything, all of it |
| इतिiti | thus, seeing it so |
| सःsa | he, that one (saḥ, shortened before the next word) |
| महात्माmahātmā | great soul |
| सुदुर्लभःsu-durlabhaḥ | very hard to come by, rare |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 19 mean?
It means the full seeing comes late, and it comes as a single recognition: vāsudevaḥ sarvam — Krishna is everything, with nothing standing outside him. The one who sees this does not argue his way in; he simply comes. Krishna adds that such a soul is rare, which is honesty about the road, not a closed door.
What does bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate mean?
After many births, the one who has come to know arrives at Krishna. The Sanskrit does not say he achieves or conquers — prapadyate is a falling-toward, a coming for shelter. Knowledge here does not end in mastery. It ends in arrival, and in the giving up of the last place you were keeping separate.
Why does Krishna say such a great soul is very rare?
Because most seeing stops short. We grant that Krishna is in the beautiful, the peaceful, the deserved — and quietly hold back the ugly and the unwanted. Rarity names how few let go of that last exception. Krishna is not restricting entry. He is describing what almost no one finishes saying.
Do I really have to wait many lifetimes to reach Krishna?
The verse counts births, not to discourage you but to measure the depth of the seeing. Krishna does not withhold himself for a term of years. What takes long is the loosening of the habit of keeping things outside him. That loosening can begin in the next hour you live.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna calls such a soul rare, and does not soften it. Many births — that is the price he names, and he names it without apology. What arrives at the end is not a new fact but a collapse of exceptions: this too is Krishna, and this, and the thing you were sure was outside him. Arjuna wants the war settled today. He is told some seeing takes lifetimes. That is not discouragement. Rarity is a description of the road, not a bar at its gate. You are already somewhere on it. Keep walking toward the day nothing is left over.