Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 9, Verse 18
गतिर्भर्ता प्रभुः साक्षी निवासः शरणं सुहृत्।
प्रभवः प्रलयः स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम्।।
प्रभवः प्रलयः स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम्।।
gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṁ suhṛt
prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam
also searched as "gatir bharta prabhuh sakshi nivasah sharanam suhrit"
Translation
I am the goal, the supporter, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the friend. I am the origin, the dissolution, the basis for preservation, and the imperishable seed.
Vāṇi's rendering
I am the goal and the keeper, the witness, the home, the refuge, the friend — origin, end, deathless seed.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| गतिःgatiḥ | the goal, where all movement is headed (gatir before bh-) |
| भर्ताbhartā | the one who holds and maintains; keeper |
| प्रभुःprabhuḥ | the master, the one in charge |
| साक्षीsākṣī | the witness, the one who sees it all |
| निवासःnivāsaḥ | the dwelling, the home lived in |
| शरणम्śaraṇaṁ | the shelter one runs to |
| सुहृत्suhṛt | the good-hearted one, the friend who wants nothing back |
| प्रभवःprabhavaḥ | the arising, where everything comes from |
| प्रलयःpralayaḥ | the dissolving, where everything goes |
| स्थानम्sthānaṁ | the ground on which things stand |
| निधानम्nidhānaṁ | the resting place, the treasury where all is laid up |
| बीजम्bījam | the seed, the cause of all sprouting |
| अव्ययम्avyayam | unspending, undiminishing, deathless |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Verse 18 mean?
Krishna names himself in the words a person in need would use: goal, keeper, witness, home, refuge, friend. Then he widens it — origin, end, deathless seed. The same one who receives you at the end is the one you began in. Nothing about you falls outside him.
What is the meaning of gatir bharta prabhuh sakshi nivasah sharanam suhrit?
These are seven ways of being turned toward someone: the destination, the sustainer, the one who watches, the dwelling, the shelter, and the friend. Krishna does not describe his own greatness here. He describes what he is to you, which is a different kind of claim entirely.
Why does Krishna call himself the imperishable seed?
Bījam avyayam — seed that never spends itself. Ordinary seeds are used up in sprouting; this one is not diminished by everything that grows from it. Worlds arise and dissolve, and the source is neither poorer nor older. Whatever you draw from it remains full.
How do I actually take refuge in Krishna as this verse says?
Not by an act of strength. Śaraṇaṁ is what the exhausted do — they stop carrying and lean. Naming a need honestly is already the leaning. You do not have to feel devotion first; you have to stop pretending you are self-sufficient. The refuge was there before you noticed.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Count them: every name here is a relation, not an attribute. Not vast, not radiant, not omnipotent — keeper, refuge, friend. Each of those words only means something because someone is going somewhere, or tired, or afraid, or alone. Krishna describes himself to Arjuna by describing what Arjuna needs. Then the words turn: origin, end, seed. The one you run toward is the one you came from. There is no distance to cover. When you next name what you are missing — a home, a friend, somewhere to put the weight down — you are already halfway through this verse.