Bhagavad Gita BG 8.17
Chapter 8, Verse 17 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तं अहर्यद्ब्रह्मणो विदुः । रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥
sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmanao viduh ratrim yuga-sahasrantam te 'ho-ratra-vido janah
Meaning
Those who know that the Day of Brahma extends to a thousand yugas, and the Night also extends to a thousand yugas — those people know day and night.
Understanding
The cosmic time scale: sahasra-yuga-paryantam (extending to a thousand yugas — a full cycle of four yugas lasts 4,320,000 years, so 1000 such cycles = 4.32 billion years) is one day (ahar) of Brahma. The night (ratri) is equally long — sahasrantam. Only those who know (viduh) this are said to truly know day and night. The teaching puts human time in perspective: what seems permanent within a human lifetime is a fraction of a fraction of a cosmic moment. This perspective detaches the mind from false permanence.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सहस्रयुग | sahasra-yuga | a thousand yugas (vast cosmic time) |
| पर्यन्तम् | paryantam | extending to, lasting until |
| अहः | ahah | day |
| रात्रिम् | ratrim | night |
| अहोरात्रविदः | aho-ratra-vidah | those who truly know day and night (cosmically) |
| सहस्र-युग-पर्यन्तम् | sahasra-yuga-paryantam | extending to a thousand yugas |
| अहर् | ahar | the day |
| यत् | yat | which |
| ब्राह्मणः | brāhmaṇaḥ | of Brahma (the creator) |
| विदुः | viduḥ | know, understand |
| रात्रिम् | rātrim | the night |
| युग-सहस्रान्तम् | yuga-sahasrāntam | ending after a thousand yugas |
| ते | te | they |
| अहो-रात्र-विदः | aho-rātra-vidaḥ | the knowers of day and night |
| जनाः | janāḥ | people, those |