यो माम् एवम् असम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम् । स सर्वविद् भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत ॥
yo mām evam asammūḍho jānāti puruṣottamam | sa sarva-vid bhajati māṃ sarva-bhāvena bhārata ||
Knowing Me as Puruṣottama without delusion, one becomes all-knowing and worships Me with whole being.
Word by word (3)
- yo mām evam asammūḍho jānāti puruṣottamam
- — whoever (yaḥ) knows Me (mām) thus (evam — as just taught) as Puruṣottama, free from delusion (asammūḍhaḥ) — the condition: clear knowledge, not confused by partial doctrines
- sa sarva-vid
- — he is all-knowing (sarva-vid) — knowing the Puruṣottama = knowing all, because all is contained in Him
- bhajati māṃ sarva-bhāvena bhārata
- — worships (bhajati) Me with all being/essence (sarva-bhāvena) — full-being devotion, not a fragment of oneself; O Bharata (Arjuna addressed)
Whoever thus knows Me — free from delusion — as the Supreme Purusha, that wise one knows all and worships Me with his whole being, O Arjuna.
A modern analogy
When you understand the ocean, you understand all waves, all rivers, all rain, all ice — because you understand the substance they all share. Knowing Puruṣottama (the ultimate substance) = understanding all existence at its root. And that understanding spontaneously becomes worship — because the one who truly sees cannot help but revere.
V19 is the bhakti-jñāna synthesis verse: sarva-vid (all-knowing through jñāna) immediately becomes bhajati (devotion). This is not two steps but one movement — in the Gita's non-dual soteriology, true knowing IS worshipping. The chapter is Puruṣottama-jñāna-yoga — knowledge of the Supreme Puruṣa — and V19 declares its fruit: sarva-jñāna and sarva-bhāva-bhakti arise together. This parallels Ch.7 V19: bahūnāṃ janmanām ante... vasudevaḥ sarvam iti — that rare one who sees 'Vāsudeva is all' and surrenders.
The phrase 'jñātvā māṃ sarva-bhāvena bhajati' integrates the Gita's three paths: jñāna (jānāti puruṣottamam), bhakti (bhajati sarva-bhāvena), and karma (the one who knows this acts without confusion). Sarva-vid is the Upaniṣadic ideal — one who knows Brahman knows all (sarvam iti). But here it's immediately coupled with bhajati — the knowing person doesn't just sit in abstract realization; they worship.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
MISSING — SH Ch.15 V19 not indexed; Ganguli and Telang used as primary. [1]
He who, free from delusion, thus knows Me, the Highest Spirit, he knowing all, worships Me with all his heart, O descendant of Bharata. [4]
He who knowing me thus as the Puruṣottama, knows all, O descendant of Bharata, and worships me with his whole heart. [9]
He who, undeluded, knows me as Purushottama, that (man) of knowledge worships me with his whole self, O Bharata. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
Knowing this you will not fall into delusion again — you will see all beings in the Self, and thus in Me.
The fruit of those of little understanding is finite — god-worshippers go to the gods; My devotees come to Me.
This divine māyā of Mine, made of the guṇas, is hard to cross — but those who take refuge in Me alone do cross it.
Brahman-become, serene, neither grieving nor desiring, equal to all beings — he attains supreme bhakti to Me.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.