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A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

~ Gita Journey is a straightforward, modern, contemporary, basic explanation and commentary of the Bhagawat Gita, with Sanskrit to English word meanings. Each shloka (verse) is explained in detail. An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita along with study resources can also be found here. A summary of each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is also included. It does not matter whether you are a student, a retiree, a professional, a mom, a dad or a housewife – no prior knowledge is needed.

A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

Category Archives: avyaktam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 13

05 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by skr_2011 in 13.5, ahankaaraha, avyaktam, buddhihi, chapter 13 verse 5, dasha, ekam, eva, indriyaani, indriyagocharaahaa, mahaabhootaani, pancha

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mahaabhootaanyahankaaro buddhiravyaktameva cha |
indriyaani dashaikam cha pancha chendriyagocharaahaa || 5 ||

 
The great elements, the ego, the intellect, the unmanifest, and also the ten senses, and the one, and five objects of senses.
 
mahaabhootaani : great elements
ahankaaraha : ego
buddhihi : intellect
avyaktam : unmanifest
eva : also
cha : and
indriyaani : senses
dasha : ten
ekam : one
cha : and
pancha : five
cha : and
indriyagocharaahaa : objects of senses
 
Nowadays, most computers have the ability to go into sleep mode, where all the running programs are saved in a file on the disk in such a way that they are brought back to life as soon as the computer is switched on again. Similarly, when the universe comes into existence, its entire state is restored from avyaktam, the unmanifest “file” containing the sum total of every unfulfilled desire. We then begin to see faint outlines of the universe, just like the computer first draws the outlines of the windows on the screen. This state is known as buddhi. We finally see the universe in full colour, in all its glory, just like we see a fully painted screen on our computer. This state is known as ahankara. This fully painted screen is created by combining three colours – red, blue and green – in various ways.
 
Similarly, the entire universe is created by combining the five great elements – space, air, fire, water and earth – in various ways. As humans, we are also comprised of those same five great elements. But, each of us looks and behaves differently than the other due to the difference in our “programming” – the avyakta, also known as vaasanaas or unfulfilled desires. Also, there is something within us that give us the ability to think, feel and act, which we do not see in inert objects. This is the inner instrument or the antahakarana. It is comprised of the buddhi or intellect which plans and decides, the ahankaara or ego which creates a sense of agency or I-ness and the mind which thinks and feels, referred in the shloka as “ekam” or the one.
 
The mind receives stimuli from five sense organs – ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose which run after their objects – sound, touch, form, taste and smell, respectively. The mind also controls five organs of action – mouth, hands, legs, genitals and bowels. The five elements, the five sense organs, their five corresponding sense objects, the five organs of actions, the mind, the intellect, the ego and the unmanifest – these make up the twenty four categories of the universe mentioned in the Saamkhya school of philosophy.
 
In just one shloka, Shri Krishna has explained the entire process of cosmic creation and its building blocks, as well as the specific factors that enable humans to think, feel and act. Plants and animals are also made up of similar building blocks, although not as fully expressed as in humans. Whenever we develop anxiety or frustration that this world is becoming too complex to understand, we can refer to this shloka and understand that at its core, the world is quite simple. Also, whenever we develop the mistaken notion that we are independent and do not need anything from this world, this shloka shows us our oneness with the world. Now this shloka only provides a static view of the world. How do we account for all the dynamism, the movement, the give and take between one human being and the rest of the world? This is explained in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 12

12 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 12.3, achalam, achintyam, aksharam, anirdeshyam, avyaktam, chapter 12 verse 3, dhruvam, kootashtam, paryupaasate, satvatragam

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ye tvaksharamanirdeshyamavyaktam paryupaasate |
satvatragamachintyam cha kootashtamachalam dhruvam || 3 ||

 
And, those who steadfastly worship the imperishable, indefinable, all pervading, inconceivable, unchangeable, immovable and eternal.
 
ye : those who
tu : and
aksharam : imperishable
anirdeshyam : indefinable
avyaktam : unmanifest
paryupaasate : steadfastly worship
satvatragam : all pervading
achintyam : inconceivable
cha : and
kootashtam : unchangeable
achalam : immovable
dhruvam : eternal
 
In response to Arjuna’s question, Shri Krishna earlier described the seeker who worshipped Ishvara as “saguna”, an entity with form. In this and the next shloka, he described the seeker who worships the “nirguna”, the formless Ishvara. Shri Krishna wants to clearly differentiate the formless from the formful, so he provides a list of adjectives to describe the formless Ishvara, to the extent that it is possible to do so.
 
“Aksharam” refers to that which does not decay, that which is imperishable. The seeker negates everything that he encounters as perishable, so only the subject remains. “Anirdeshyam” is that which cannot be described or defined by the speech and mind. “Avyaktam” refers to anything that is not accessible to our senses, something that is invisible. “Sarvatragam” is that which is not limited by space, that which pervades everywhere and everything. “Achintyam” is that which cannot be conceived as a thought by the mind.
 
Anything that is filled with fault is called “koota”. So that by which the defect-ridden maaya and its activities look real is called “kootastha”, the foundation or base on which maaya appears. “Kootastha” also means anvil which denotes changelessness in time. “Achalam” refers to fixity, changelessness in space. “Dhruvam” is that which is eternal and deathless. In this manner, a seeker worships the formless Ishvara.
 
Let us also understand what is meant by “upasaanaa” or meditative worship, since that is the theme of this chapter. Shankaracharya gives a long definition in his commentary. Upaasanaa literally means to sit near. Here it refers to the seeker taking on the quality of the object of worship by moving his mind as near to that object as he can. The object of worship should be selected with the advice of the guru and scriptures. It should not be arbitrary. Then the seeker should continuously think about the object, just like an unbroken stream of oil poured from a height.
 
Shri Krishna continues the description of nirguna upaasakaas, seekers of the formless Ishvara, in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 12

10 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 12.1, avyaktam, bhaktaahaa, chapter 12 verse 1, evam, ke, paryupaasate, satatayuktaa, teshaam, tvaam, ye.aksharam, yogavittamaahaa

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Arjuna uvaacha:
evam satatayuktaa ye bhaktaastvaam paryupaasate |
ye chaapyaksharamavyaktam teshaam ke yogavittamaahaa || 1 ||

 
Arjuna said:
Those devotees, constantly united in you, worship you, and those devotees who worship the imperishable, the unmanifest, between them, who is the superior knower of yoga?

 
evam : in this manner
satatayuktaa : constantly united
ye : those who
bhaktaahaa : devotees
tvaam : you
paryupaasate : worship you
ye : those who
cha : and
api : also
aksharam : imperishable
avyaktam : unmanifest
teshaam : between them
ke : who is
yogavittamaahaa : superior knower of yoga
 
The first chapter of the Gita addressed the confusion of Arjuna arising out of his lack of identity, and of not knowing his duty on the battlefield. Chapters two to five explained what is the true nature of the individual, and using karma yoga to purify oneself. Chapter six explained how to remain constantly in one’s true nature through the yoga of meditation. Chapters seven to ten gave us an elaborate description of Ishvara, culminating with the vision of the cosmic form in the eleventh chapter.
 
The theme of this chapter is bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion to Ishvara. Throughout the Gita, Shri Krishna has said, “perform actions for me”, “become devoted to me”, “make me your supreme goal”. But we have to first know, who is this “me” that is to be worshipped? There are some places in the Gita where Shri Krishna has described himself as imperishable, unmanifest, not visible to our senses. Conversely, he has shown his visible cosmic form to Arjuna in the previous chapter. In India, most devotees worship images of their chosen deities in their homes and temples.
 
So then, Arjuna wants to know, who is the superior devotee? Is it the one who worships the unmanifest, or is it one who worships the manifest? There is a well-known Marathi bhajan (devotional song) that asks the very same question : do I call you saguna or nirguna? Saguna means one with attributes, one that can be seen and felt. Nirguna means one that has no attributes. It is a tough choice for Shri Krishna. He answers the question in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 7

21 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 7.24, aapannam, abuddhayaha, ajaanantaha, anuttamam, avyaktam, avyayam, bhaavam, chapter 7 verse 25, maama, mama, manyante, param, vyaktim

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avyaktam vyaktimaapannam manyante maamabuddhayaha |
param bhaavamajaananto mamaavyayamanuttamam || 24 ||

 
The unintelligent, not knowing my unmanifest, supreme, incomparable and imperishable nature, believe that I assume a human form.
 
avyaktam : unmanifest
vyaktim : human form
aapannam : assume
manyante : believe
maama : me
abuddhayaha : unintelligent
param : supreme
bhaavam : nature
ajaanantaha : not knowing
mama : my
avyayam : imperishable
anuttamam : incomparable
 
“To one that holds a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. When we get used to a certain mode of thinking or behaving, it becomes a disadvantage because that mode of thinking begins to limit our perspective. We spend all of our waking life taking in information from the sense organs – the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Due to this constant exposure, we tend to perceive everything in terms of these 5 senses. Ultimately, these senses limit what we can perceive.
 
Shri Krishna, having described the finite goal-seeking mindset of most people, now clearly articulates the problem that they face. Limited by their finite intellect, limited by the prison of the 5 senses, people tend to view Ishvara as a finite entity. As if this is not unfortunate enough, they get so attached to their favourite deity that they sometimes begin to develop a fanatic attitude – “my god is better than your god” and so on. The true Ishvara is beyond all senses. Neither the mind nor our speech can reach it. Ishvara is beyond all names and forms.
 
But, many of us go to temples to worship deities. Even spiritual masters worship deities. How should we understand this? It is because deities in a temple are indicators or pointers to the infinite. An idol in the shape of a deity helps us focus our attention on the form of the deity. But this focusing of attention on the finite deity is a stepping stone to contemplating the true nature of Ishvara which is infinite, imperishable and supreme.
 
What is the real reason for the problem pointed out here? Why do most people think of Ishvara in finite terms? This is examined next.

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