Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verse 17

Chapter 8 – Akshara Brahma Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः ।
रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥

Transliteration

sahasrayugaparyantamaharyad brahmaṇo viduḥ .
rātriṃ yugasahasrāntāṃ te.ahorātravido janāḥ ॥

Meaning

Those who know that Brahma's day lasts a thousand yugas and that his night also ends after a thousand yugas are the ones who truly know day and night.

Word meanings

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तम् – lasting a thousand yugas
अहः – day
यत् – which
ब्रह्मणः – of Brahma
विदुः – know
रात्रिम् – the night
युगसहस्रान्ताम् – ending after a thousand yugas
ते – they
अहोरात्रविदः – those who know day and night
जनाः – people

Anvaya (word order)

ये जनाः ब्रह्मणः यत् सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तम् अहः, युगसहस्रान्तां रात्रिं (च) विदुः, ते अहोरात्रविदः ।

Explanation

The previous verse said that all worlds up to Brahmaloka are subject to return. To understand that, a measure of Brahma's time is given here, so that both the span and the limit of Brahmaloka become clear.

In the Puranic reckoning the four yugas, Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, together make a chaturyuga, taken as 4,320,000 human years. A thousand such cycles make one day of Brahma, and his night is of the same length. During his day creation stays manifest, and in the night it dissolves. So one day and night of Brahma span billions of human years.

The Lord says those who know this are the real ahoratra-vidah. The purpose of the knowledge is not arithmetic but outlook. When a person knows that even the highest world is bound by time and will dissolve, the importance of worldly status, pleasure and even heaven shrinks. Shankara says for this reason even reaching Brahmaloka and the like is subject to return, and only attaining the Lord gives non-return.

The message is how fleeting our small life and its worries are before such a vast cosmic cycle; this produces both humility and dispassion.

Context

Verse 8.16 said all worlds are subject to return. Here the same is explained through the time-scale of Brahma's day and night, and the next verses (8.18-19) describe creation and dissolution in that day and night.

Life lesson

Remembering the vastness of time lightens petty worries. Using our limited life for the most important goal, Self-knowledge and remembrance of God, is the greatest wisdom.

Key terms

ब्रह्मा का दिन: a kalpa, one thousand cycles of four yugas
ब्रह्मा की रात्रि: the period of dissolution, equally long
युग: unit of cosmic time (Satya, Treta, Dvapara, Kali)
अहोरात्रविद्: one who grasps the vastness of time