Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 9, Verse 2
राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम्।
प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम्।।
प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम्।।
rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam
also searched as "Raja vidya raja guhyam pavitram idam uttamam"
Translation
This is the royal science, the royal mystery, the supreme purifier. It is realized through direct experience, is in accord with Dharma, is pleasant to practice, and is abiding.
Vāṇi's rendering
This is the king of knowledge, the king of secrets — pure, direct, righteous, easy to live, never fading.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| राजविद्याrāja-vidyā | the king of knowings — the royal, highest science |
| राजगुह्यम्rāja-guhyaṁ | the king of secrets, the deepest hidden thing |
| पवित्रम्pavitram | purifying, that which makes clean |
| इदम्idam | this |
| उत्तमम्uttamam | highest, supreme |
| प्रत्यक्षावगमम्pratyakṣāvagamaṁ | known by direct seeing — pratyakṣa (before the eyes) joined with avagama (understanding) by sandhi |
| धर्म्यम्dharmyaṁ | in accord with dharma, righteous |
| सुसुखम्su-sukhaṁ | very easy, pleasant |
| कर्तुम्kartum | to do, to practise |
| अव्ययम्avyayam | never wearing out, undiminishing |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Verse 2 mean?
Krishna names the worth of what he is about to teach: highest of knowings, deepest of secrets, cleansing, righteous, and imperishable. Two claims stand out. It is verified by direct seeing rather than by belief, and it is easy to practise. The teaching is not a burden laid on you; it is a relief handed to you.
What is the meaning of raja vidya raja guhyam pavitram idam uttamam?
Rāja-vidyā is the sovereign among all knowings; rāja-guhyaṁ, the sovereign among secrets. Pavitram idam uttamam — this is the supreme purifier. Krishna is not boasting. He is telling Arjuna where to place his attention, the way one points to the one door in a wall of windows.
Why does Krishna call this knowledge pratyaksha, or directly known?
Because it does not wait on scripture, teacher, or death to be confirmed. Pratyakṣāvagamaṁ means the fruit shows up where you can see it — in the steadiness of your own mind, today. You are not asked to trust a report. You are asked to test something and notice what happens.
How can spiritual practice be called easy when it feels so hard?
Su-sukhaṁ kartum — pleasant to do. What is hard is the gripping: managing outcomes, defending the self, keeping score. Krishna's path removes that labour rather than adding to it. If your practice feels like strain, look at what you are still carrying into it. The teaching itself is light.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Krishna praises the teaching before Arjuna has heard any of it — king among knowings, king among secrets. Then comes the word that changes everything: pratyakṣa. Direct. This is not taken on report; you verify it in your own chest, or not at all. Most sacred things are hard, and their hardness is offered as proof of worth. Krishna claims the opposite — su-sukhaṁ kartum, easy to live. Whatever is difficult in you was never the teaching. And it does not wear out with use, which no other pleasure can promise. Do one small act tonight without gripping the result, and see.