Bhagavad Gita BG 7.19
Chapter 7, Verse 19 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते । वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥
bahunam janmanam ante jnanavAn mam prapadyate vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabhah
Meaning
At the end of many births, the jnanavan (wise one) surrenders to Me — (knowing) 'Vasudeva is all.' Such a mahatma is very rare.
Understanding
One of the most celebrated verses in the Gita. The culmination of the jnani's journey across many births (bahunam janmanam ante — at the end of many births). They prapadyate (surrender) to Krishna. What is their realization? Vasudevah sarvam iti — 'Vasudeva is all.' The complete non-dual recognition: Vasudeva (the all-pervading, the son of Vasudeva, the universe-as-Consciousness) is sarvam (everything). Every grain of existence is the Divine. Such a mahatma (great soul) is su-durlabha — very, very rare. The Gita explicitly acknowledges: this level of realization is extraordinarily rare.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ज्ञानवान् | jnanavAn | the wise one, possessed of jnana |
| वासुदेवः सर्वम् | vasudevah sarvam | Vasudeva is all/everything (the complete non-dual realization) |
| महात्मा | mahatma | great soul |
| सुदुर्लभः | su-durlabhah | very rare, extremely hard to find |
| बहूनाम् | bahūnām | of many |
| जन्मनाम् | janmanām | of births |
| अन्ते | ante | at the end |
| ज्ञानवान् | jñānavān | the wise one, endowed with knowledge |
| माम् | mām | Me |
| प्रपद्यते | prapadyate | surrenders to, takes refuge in |
| वासुदेवः | vāsudevaḥ | Vasudeva (Krishna, son of Vasudeva) |
| सर्वम् | sarvam | all, everything |
| इति | iti | thus (thinking) |
| सः | saḥ | that |
| महात्मा | mahātmā | great soul |
| सु-दुर्लभः | su-durlabhaḥ | very rare to find |