Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 18

Chapter 10 – Vibhuti Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

विस्तरेणात्मनो योगं विभूतिं च जनार्दन ।
भूयः कथय तृप्तिर्हि शृण्वतो नास्ति मेऽमृतम् ॥

Transliteration

vistareṇātmano yogaṃ vibhūtiṃ ca janārdana .
bhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptirhi śṛṇvato nāsti me.amṛtam ॥

Meaning

O Janardana, describe again in detail Your yoga and Your glory, for I am never satisfied with hearing Your nectar-like words.

Word meanings

विस्तरेण – in detail
आत्मनः – Your own
योगम् – yoga, power
विभूतिम् – glory
च – and
जनार्दन – O Janardana
भूयः – again
कथय – tell
तृप्तिः – satiety
हि – for
शृण्वतः – while hearing
न – not
अस्ति – is
मे – my
अमृतम् – nectar

Anvaya (word order)

जनार्दन, आत्मनः योगं विभूतिं च विस्तरेण भूयः कथय; हि अमृतं शृण्वतः मे तृप्तिः न अस्ति ।

Explanation

Arjuna’s request reaches its height here: ‘Tell me again in detail, O Janardana, of Your yoga and glory.’ The word bhuyah, ‘again’, reflects that Krishna has already spoken briefly of His glories in chapters 7 and 9 and at the start of this chapter, yet Arjuna wants to hear them more fully.

Shankara explains the name Janardana thus: the one whom people (jana) petition (ardana) for prosperity in this world and for final liberation. Another meaning is ‘the one who chastises the wicked’. By using this name Arjuna gently reminds the Lord that He fulfils everyone’s requests and should fulfil his too.

Triptir hi shrinvato nasti me ’mritam, ‘for I am never sated hearing this nectar’. This is the loveliest part of the verse. Worldly pleasures bring satiety or even distaste after a point; however delicious a meal, one eventually has enough. But the account of the Lord is a nectar of which one never tires; the more one hears, the more the thirst grows.

In the Bhagavata Purana too, the sages say they are never satisfied hearing of the Lord, for each time they find a fresh sweetness in it. This insatiable relish for the Lord’s story is a special mark of devotion, and it is Arjuna’s very thirst that moves Krishna to describe His glories at length.

Context

In verse 17 Arjuna asked in which forms he should contemplate the Lord. Here he begs for a detailed account. From the next verse Krishna, pleased, begins describing His principal glories.

Life lesson

Worldly pleasures eventually leave us sated, but the story and wisdom of God never do. Never let spiritual curiosity die down; the more you hear, the more keep alive the thirst to hear.

Key terms

Janardana: Krishna: the one people petition; chastiser of the wicked
Vistara: detail, expansion
Amrita: nectar, here the Lord’s sweet words
Atripti: insatiable relish