Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 20

Chapter 15 – Purushottama Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयानघ ।
एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत ॥

Transliteration

iti guhyatamaṃ śāstramidamuktaṃ mayānagha .
etadbuddhvā buddhimānsyātkṛtakṛtyaśca bhārata ॥

Meaning

Thus, O sinless Bharata, I have taught you this most secret teaching. Knowing it, a person becomes truly wise and fulfils all that has to be done.

Word meanings

इति – thus
गुह्यतमम् – most secret, most profound
शास्त्रम् – teaching, scripture
इदम् – this
उक्तम् – has been taught
मया – by Me
अनघ – O sinless one
एतत् – this
बुद्ध्वा – having understood
बुद्धिमान् – truly wise
स्यात् – becomes
कृतकृत्यः – one who has done all that is to be done
च – and
भारत – O descendant of Bharata

Anvaya (word order)

अनघ भारत, इति इदम् गुह्यतमम् शास्त्रम् मया उक्तम्; एतत् बुद्ध्वा (मनुष्यः) बुद्धिमान् कृतकृत्यः च स्यात् ।

Explanation

At the close of the chapter Krishna calls the whole teaching guhyatamam shastram, ‘the most secret scripture’. To call a chapter of only twenty verses a shastra signals its completeness. Shankara notes that although the entire Gita is scripture, this chapter is so named in praise, because it gathers in brief the essence of the Gita and of all the Vedas. The tree of samsara, detachment from it, the nature of the self, the Lord’s presence in the world and the knowledge of Purushottama are all strung on one thread here. This is one reason the tradition of reciting this chapter before meals arose.

The address anagha, ‘sinless one’, is meaningful. This knowledge is for the pure of heart; verse 11 said that the unrefined cannot see. Krishna entrusts the secret to Arjuna in recognition of his fitness.

The fruit of the teaching is to become wise and kritakritya. The kritakritya is one for whom nothing remains to be done, who has reached life’s highest goal. Ramanuja says that one who knows the Lord as Purushottama has done all that is needed for liberation. This does not mean giving up action, but being freed from its burden and restless striving.

Here the Purushottama Yoga ends. In the next chapter, the Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga, Krishna describes the divine and demonic endowments: the qualities that lead a person toward this supreme knowledge and the faults that lead away from it. After the vision of truth comes the shaping of character.

Context

This is the final verse of chapter 15, in which Krishna sums up for Arjuna the knowledge of Purushottama. Verse 19 named devotion as the fruit of this knowledge; here it is called wisdom and fulfilment. Chapter 16 follows, distinguishing the divine and the demonic qualities.

Life lesson

Real success in life lies not in gaining many things but in knowing the one Reality after which nothing remains to be gained. Purity of heart and the practice of virtue prepare us to receive that knowledge.

Key terms

Guhyatama shastra: the most secret and profound teaching
Anagha: sinless, pure of heart
Kritakritya: one who has accomplished all that is to be done