Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 9, Verse 1
श्री भगवानुवाच
इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं प्रवक्ष्याम्यनसूयवे।
ज्ञानं विज्ञानसहितं यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात्।।
इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं प्रवक्ष्याम्यनसूयवे।
ज्ञानं विज्ञानसहितं यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात्।।
śrī bhagavān uvāca
idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ pravakṣyāmyanasūyave
jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ yaj jñātvā mokṣyase ’śubhāt
also searched as "idam tu te guhyatamam pravakshyamyanasuyave"
Translation
The Lord said, "I shall declare to you, who does not cavil, this most mysterious knowledge, together with its special knowledge, knowing which you will be freed from evil."
Vāṇi's rendering
Because you do not carp, I will tell you the deepest secret — knowledge with direct seeing. It will free you.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्री भगवान् उवाचśrī bhagavān uvāca | Krishna said |
| इदम्idaṁ | this |
| तुtu | indeed, now |
| तेte | to you |
| गुह्यतमम्guhyatamaṁ | the most hidden of all, the deepest secret |
| प्रवक्ष्यामिpravakṣyāmi | I shall speak out, declare fully (joined by sandhi to the next word) |
| अनसूयवेanasūyave | to one who does not sneer, carp, or begrudge |
| ज्ञानम्jñānaṁ | knowledge |
| विज्ञान-सहितम्vijñāna-sahitaṁ | together with direct seeing — knowledge borne out in one's own experience |
| यत्yat | which |
| ज्ञात्वाjñātvā | having known |
| मोक्ष्यसेmokṣyase | you will be freed |
| अशुभात्aśubhāt | from what is unlucky, harmful, unclean (initial 'a' elided in sandhi) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Verse 1 mean?
Krishna tells Arjuna that the deepest secret is about to be spoken, and states the one condition that makes speaking possible: Arjuna does not carp. What follows is jñāna joined to vijñāna — understanding that has become direct seeing. Knowing it, Arjuna will be free of what harms him. The teaching is offered, not earned.
What does idam tu te guhyatamam pravakshyamyanasuyave mean?
"This, now, to you — the most hidden thing — I shall declare, because you do not sneer." Guhyatamaṁ is the superlative: not merely secret but the innermost secret. Anasūyave names the listener who has kept his mockery out of the room. Krishna speaks to that quality, and to nothing else in Arjuna.
What is the difference between jnana and vijnana in this verse?
Jñāna is what you have understood. Vijñāna is what you have seen for yourself. Krishna insists on both together, because knowledge held only as information leaves you exactly where you were. The verse promises freedom from aśubha, from harm — and a promise like that cannot be kept by a concept you merely agree with.
Why does Krishna say Arjuna does not carp before teaching him?
Because a sneer makes a listener deaf without making him silent. Asūyā is that low derision which hears in order to dismiss. Krishna is not flattering Arjuna; he is describing the only opening through which such a thing can pass. Wherever you have already decided something is foolish, nothing more will reach you there.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Notice what qualifies Arjuna. Not brilliance, not merit, not years of practice — only that he does not sneer. Krishna has been speaking for eight chapters, and now he says the deepest thing is coming, and the reason it can come is that Arjuna has not once mocked what he heard. A secret is not kept by the teller; it is kept by the listener's contempt. And what arrives is knowledge with seeing — not information about freedom but the thing itself. Ask yourself what you have already dismissed with a small laugh. That is where the door was.