13 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on divine nature. Explore teachings across 6 chapters.
Arjuna uvaca: Aparam bhavato janma param janma vivasvata, katham etad vijaniyam tvam adau proktavan iti
Arjuna asks: Vivasvan the sun-god was born long before you — how then are we to understand that you taught this yoga to him in the beginning?
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).
Na mam karmani limpanti na me karma-phale sprha, iti mam yo 'bhijanati karmabhir na sa badhyate
Actions do not taint Me, nor do I desire the fruits of action. One who understands this truth about Me is also not bound by the reactions of their own work.
Avyaktam vyaktim apannam manyante mam abuddhayah, param bhavam ajananto mamavyayam anuttamam
The unintelligent, not knowing My supreme, imperishable, and unsurpassed nature, think of Me as having assumed a form from the unmanifest. The ignorant mistake the human form of God for the totality of the Divine, not recognizing that the manifest form is just one expression of the infinite, unmanifest Supreme.
Maya tatam idam sarvam jagad avyakta-murtina, mat-sthani sarva-bhutani na chaham teshv avasthitah
I pervade this entire universe in My unmanifest form. All beings exist in Me, but I am not limited to them.
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.
Mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakritim ashritah, bhajanty ananya-manaso jnatva bhutadim avyayam
O Partha, great souls who take shelter of the divine nature worship Me with undivided consciousness, knowing Me as the imperishable origin of all beings.
Iti kshetram tatha jnanam jneyam choktam samasatah, mad-bhakta etad vijnaya mad-bhavayopapadyate
Thus the field, knowledge, and the knowable have been briefly described. My devotee, understanding this, attains to My nature. Comprehending the distinction between field and knower leads directly to liberation through devotion.
Idam jnanam upashritya mama sadharmyam agatah, sarge 'pi nopajayante pralaye na vyathanti cha
By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one attains to My own nature. Such persons are not born at the time of creation, nor disturbed at the time of dissolution. Merger with the divine nature is the ultimate fruit — transcending even the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction.
Nanyam gunebhyah kartaram yada drasthanupashyati, gunebhyas cha param vetti mad-bhavam so 'dhigacchati
When one sees that there is no agent of action other than the three gunas, and knows that which is transcendental to all these gunas, one attains My divine nature. The final insight is that all action is driven by gunas; the one who sees this transcends them.
Tejah kshama dhritih shaucham adroho nati-manita, bhavanti sampadam daivim abhijatasya bharata
Vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of malice, and absence of pride—these qualities belong to those endowed with divine nature, O Arjuna.
Daivī sampad vimokṣhāya nibandhāyāsurī matā, mā śhuchaḥ sampadaṁ daivīm abhijāto 'si pāṇḍava
Divine qualities lead to liberation, while demoniac qualities lead to bondage. Do not grieve, O Pandava, for you are born with divine treasures.
Dvau bhuta-sargau loke 'smin daiva asura eva ca, daivo vistarashah prokta asura partha me shrinu
There are two kinds of created beings in this world — the divine and the demoniac. The divine has been described at length; now hear from Me about the demoniac, O Partha. This verse marks the transition from describing divine qualities to the demoniac, establishing that humanity is broadly divided into these two spiritual orientations.