Topic

Supremacy

4 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on supremacy. Explore teachings across 3 chapters.

All Verses

Chapter 4 • Verse 33 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Renunciation
Shreyaan dravya-mayad yajnaj jnana-yajnah parantapa, sarvam karmakhilam partha jnane parisamapyate

O destroyer of the enemy, the sacrifice of knowledge is greater than any material sacrifice. All action, O Partha, in its entirety culminates in knowledge.

  • •Knowledge is the supreme form of sacrifice
  • •All forms of action ultimately resolve into gnosis
  • •Material offerings are stepping stones toward wisdom
knowledge sacrificejnana yajnaactionculmination
Chapter 7 • Verse 7 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom
Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya, mayi sarvam idam protam sutre mani-gana iva

O conqueror of wealth (Arjuna), there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread. This verse establishes the absolute supremacy of God as the ultimate reality, the substratum on which all existence depends.

  • •There is no reality higher than the Supreme
  • •All existence is connected through God like beads on a string
  • •God is the invisible thread underlying all manifestation
divine groundunityexistenceultimate reality
Chapter 10 • Verse 2 →The Yoga of Divine Glories
Na me viduh sura-ganah prabhavam na maharshayah, aham adir hi devanam maharshiphinam ca sarvasha

Neither the hosts of gods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for in every respect I am the source of the gods and the great sages. Even the most exalted beings — gods and sages — cannot fully comprehend the infinite nature and origin of the Supreme Lord.

  • •The Supreme transcends the comprehension of even gods and sages
  • •God is the source of all exalted beings and cannot be known by them fully
  • •Humility before the infinite is the mark of true wisdom
divine originincomprehensibilitygodssages
Chapter 10 • Verse 15 →The Yoga of Divine Glories
Svayam evatmanatmanam vettha tvam purushottama, bhuta-bhavana bhutesho deva-deva jagat-pate

Truly You alone know Yourself by Your own internal power, O Supreme Person, O origin of all beings, O Lord of all beings, O God of gods, O Lord of the universe. Only God can truly know God — the Lord's self-knowledge is self-contained and infinite, beyond the reach of any external inquiry.

  • •The Supreme can only be truly known by Himself
  • •Divine self-knowledge is the foundation of all other knowledge
  • •Addressing God by His highest names is itself a form of worship
Purushottamaself-knowledgedivine namesadoration