Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 9

Chapter 4 – Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन ॥

Transliteration

janma karma ca me divyamevaṃ yo vetti tattvataḥ .
tyaktvā dehaṃ punarjanma naiti māmeti so.arjuna ॥

Meaning

He who truly knows My divine birth and actions in this way, O Arjuna, on leaving the body is not born again; he comes to Me.

Word meanings

जन्म – birth, manifestation
कर्म – actions, deeds
च – and
मे – My
दिव्यम् – divine, transcendent, not of material nature
एवम् – thus
यः – who
वेत्ति – knows
तत्त्वतः – in truth, in reality
त्यक्त्वा – having left
देहम् – the body
पुनः – again
जन्म – birth
न – not
एति – attains, goes to
माम् – to Me
एति – comes
सः – he
अर्जुन – O Arjuna

Anvaya (word order)

अर्जुन, मे जन्म कर्म च दिव्यम्, एवं यः तत्त्वतः वेत्ति, सः देहं त्यक्त्वा पुनः जन्म न एति, (सः) माम् एति ।

Explanation

Having revealed the mystery of His descent, Krishna now declares the fruit of knowing it — and that fruit is nothing less than liberation. ‘Janma karma cha me divyam’ — My birth and My actions are divine. ‘Divya’ means transcendent, not of the material order: neither arising from the bondage of karma as the births and deeds of ordinary beings do, nor producing any bondage.

Why is the Lord's birth divine? Because it is not the result of karma but of free will and compassion; in being born He loses none of His lordship, omniscience or fullness. Why are His deeds divine? Because they are not driven by selfishness, desire or ego; they are done solely for the welfare of the world and the protection of dharma, and they cannot bind Him. Ramanuja adds that even the Lord's body is not made of material elements; it is the shining forth of His own divine nature.

‘Tattvatah’ — knowing in truth. Hearing the stories or gathering surface information is not enough. To know in truth is to realise deeply that the One appearing as Krishna is in reality the unborn, imperishable Supreme. For Shankara this knowledge leads finally to the insight that the Lord alone is real and that His birth and deeds are appearances wrought by maya; one who sees this comes to know himself too as untouched by action and birth.

‘Having left the body, he is not born again; he comes to Me.’ How can this be? One who truly knows the Lord's divine nature finds his mind naturally drawn to Him; his faith, love and surrender become complete. Where the Lord dwells in the heart, attachment to the world cannot remain, and without attachment the cause of rebirth is gone.

The verse shows that hearing and reflecting on the Lord's deeds is not mere entertainment but a means of liberation — provided they are understood with insight into their truth, with faith and discernment. This is why the devotional traditions give such importance to the sacred narratives of the Lord.

Context

In 4.7–4.8 Krishna explained when and why He descends. Here He states that one who knows the truth of His divine birth and actions is liberated. In the next verse (4.10) He says that many in the past have reached His being by this very path.

Life lesson

Do not treat the stories of the Lord as mere tales; seek the truth that lies behind them. When the divinity of God settles into the heart, attachment to the world begins to loosen of its own accord.

Key terms

Divya: divine, transcendent, free from the bondage of karma
Tattvatah: in truth; with deep, realised understanding
Punarjanma: rebirth after death
Moksha: liberation from the cycle of birth and death; attaining God