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2 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on avatar. Explore teachings across 2 chapters.

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Chapter 4 • Verse 6 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Renunciation
Ajo 'pi sann avyayatma bhutanam ishvaro 'pi san, prakritim svam adhisthaya sambhavamy atma-mayaya

Though I am unborn and imperishable, though I am the Lord of all beings, yet by ruling over My own material nature, I appear through My own divine power (yoga maya).

  • •The divine incarnates through free will, not compulsion
  • •God is unborn yet appears in time through maya
  • •Divine manifestation is a gracious act, not a limitation
unbornincarnationmayadivine nature
Chapter 9 • Verse 11 →The Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret
Avajananti mam mudha manushim tanum ashritam, param bhavam ajananto mama bhuta-maheshvaram

Fools disregard Me when I descend in human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all beings. Those who see only the external human appearance of the Lord miss His divine majesty hidden within the mortal form.

  • •The divine is often unrecognised when it appears in human form
  • •Ignorance of God's supreme nature leads to disrespect
  • •True wisdom perceives the transcendental beyond the apparent
ignorancedivine naturetranscendencehuman form