Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 8, Verse 9
कविं पुराणमनुशासितार
मणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः।
सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप
मादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात्।।
मणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः।
सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप
मादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात्।।
kaviṁ purāṇam anuśāsitāram
aṇor aṇīyānsam anusmared yaḥ
sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam
āditya-varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt
also searched as "kavim puranam anushasitaram"
Translation
He who meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, the Ruler, subtler than the subtle, the Ordainer of everything, of inconceivable form, effulgent like the sun, and beyond darkness—he attains the Supreme Person.
Vāṇi's rendering
Remember the ancient seer, the ruler, smaller than small, bearer of all, blazing like the sun beyond darkness.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कविम्kaviṁ | the seer — the one who knows by seeing, not by learning |
| पुराणम्purāṇam | ancient, there before anything began |
| अनुशासितारम्anuśāsitāram | the ruler, the one who orders and governs |
| अणोःaṇor | than the atom, than the tiniest thing (sandhi: aṇoḥ + a) |
| अणीयांसम्aṇīyānsam | smaller still, finer than the finest |
| अनुस्मरेत्anusmaret | should keep remembering, hold in continuous recollection |
| यःyaḥ | whoever |
| सर्वस्यsarvasya | of everything |
| धातारम्dhātāram | the bearer, the one who holds it all up |
| अचिन्त्यरूपम्acintya-rūpam | whose form thought cannot reach |
| आदित्यवर्णम्āditya-varṇaṁ | sun-coloured, blazing like the sun |
| तमसःtamasaḥ | than darkness |
| परस्तात्parastāt | beyond, on the far side of |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 9 mean?
It is an instruction in remembrance. Krishna names what is to be remembered — ancient seer, ruler, finer than the finest, bearer of all, sun-bright and past every darkness — and then calls that form acintya, beyond thinking. You are not asked to picture it. You are asked to turn toward it and keep turning.
What is the meaning of kavim puranam anushasitaram?
Kavi is the seer who knows by seeing rather than by study. Purāṇa is what was there before beginnings. Anuśāsitā is the one who governs. Three words, three impossibilities held together — the oldest thing is also the one ruling this present moment, and the one who sees is what you are looking for.
How can something be smaller than the smallest and also carry everything?
Because size is the wrong measure. Aṇor aṇīyānsam points to what is finer than any particle you could name, and dhātāram to what holds all of it up. Krishna is not describing a large object or a small one. He is describing what is nearer to you than your own breath and wider than the sky.
Do I need to understand this description to meditate on it?
No. The verse itself says acintya-rūpam, of unthinkable form, and then still says anusmaret, remember. Understanding is not the entry fee. Remembrance is a movement of the heart, not a completed thought. Turn toward it while it is still dark to you, and keep turning. The turning is the whole discipline.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Count the contradictions Krishna piles up. Ancient, yet the ruler now. Smaller than the smallest thing you can imagine, yet carrying everything. Blazing like the sun, and past all darkness. No image survives that list — which is why the word set in the middle of it is acintya, not-thinkable. Arjuna is not being handed a picture to hold in the mind. He is being given a direction to face. The instruction is anusmaret, keep remembering, and remembrance does not require that you understand what you remember. When you sit tonight with nothing clear before you, remember anyway. That is the practice.