Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verse 9

Chapter 8 – Akshara Brahma Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

कविं पुराणमनुशासितार-
मणोरणीयंसमनुस्मरेद्यः ।
सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप-
मादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ॥

Transliteration

kaviṃ purāṇamanuśāsitāraṃ aṇoraṇīyaṃsamanusmaredyaḥ .
sarvasya dhātāramacintyarūpaṃ ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt ॥

Meaning

One who meditates on the all-knowing, ancient, ruler of all, subtler than the atom, sustainer of everything, of inconceivable form, radiant like the sun and beyond darkness (reaches that Supreme Person).

Word meanings

कविम् – the all-knowing seer
पुराणम् – the ancient
अनुशासितारम् – the ruler, controller
अणोः अणीयांसम् – subtler than the subtlest
अनुस्मरेत् – should meditate on
यः – who
सर्वस्य धातारम् – the sustainer of all
अचिन्त्यरूपम् – of inconceivable form
आदित्यवर्णम् – sun-coloured, radiant like the sun
तमसः परस्तात् – beyond darkness (ignorance)

Anvaya (word order)

यः कविं पुराणम् अनुशासितारम् अणोः अणीयांसम् सर्वस्य धातारम् अचिन्त्यरूपम् आदित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् अनुस्मरेत् (सः तं याति) ।

Explanation

The eighth verse said we must meditate on the supreme Person with a practised mind. What should we think of? This verse supplies the object of meditation in a series of epithets, qualities which give the mind something to hold when it approaches the Lord.

Kavi is the all-knowing seer who beholds the three times. Purana is the ancient, without beginning. Anushasita is the ruler who governs the entire world. Anor aniyamsam is subtler than the atom, so subtle that he dwells within everything and in every heart. In exact contrast is sarvasya dhata, the sustainer of all, who is also so vast that he holds everything. Thus he is at once the smallest and the greatest.

Achintya-rupa means his form cannot be thought out by the ordinary mind and intellect; it is bound neither to a common shape nor to any argument. Yet adityavarna, radiant like the sun, gives the mind a luminous image fit for meditation. And tamasah parastat, beyond the darkness of ignorance and maya, untouched by it.

Shankara reads these epithets from both the attributeless and the personal view; Ramanuja reads them as the Lord's divine auspicious qualities. Whichever view one holds, the aim is the same: that the seeker's mind rests on the vast, subtle and luminous supreme Reality.

Context

Verse 8.8 asked for meditation on the supreme Person with a practised mind. This verse describes the object of that meditation. The sentence is completed in 8.10, which gives the method and fruit at the time of death.

Life lesson

Meditation needs a high ideal. Remembering God as all-knowing, sustaining and luminous replaces fear with trust and darkness with light in the mind.

Key terms

कवि: seer, the all-knowing
अणोरणीयान्: subtler than the atom, pervading all
अचिन्त्यरूप: whose form is beyond the grasp of mind
आदित्यवर्ण: self-luminous like the sun