सर्वगुह्यतमं भूयः शृणु मे परमं वचः । इष्टो ऽसि मे दृढम् इति ततो वक्ष्यामि ते हितम् ॥
sarva-guhyatamaṃ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥ | iṣṭo 'si me dṛḍham iti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam ||
Hear again My supreme word, most secret of all — because you are deeply beloved to Me, I will speak your benefit.
Word by word (3)
- sarva-guhyatamaṃ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥ
- — the most secret of all (sarva-guhyatamam = sarva + guhya + tama = all-secret-most; superlative of guhya), again/once more (bhūyaḥ = again), hear (śṛṇu = listen) My supreme/highest (paramam = highest) word (vacaḥ = speech/word) — the announcement: what follows surpasses even guhyād guhya-taram of V63; now it is sarva-guhyatama (most secret of all)
- iṣṭo 'si me dṛḍham iti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam
- — you are (asi) exceedingly/firmly (dṛḍham = firmly/deeply; literally hard/solid) dear/beloved (iṣṭaḥ = loved, desired, from iṣ = to desire/love) to Me (me), therefore (tataḥ = therefore, from that) I will speak/declare (vakṣyāmi = shall-speak, future of vac) what is beneficial/good (hitam = beneficial, well-being) to you (te) — the intimate ground: the most secret teaching is given because of deep love (iṣṭo 'si dṛḍham)
- iṣṭo 'si me dṛḍham
- — you are deeply beloved to Me; iṣṭa = the most beloved, the cherished one; dṛḍham = firmly/deeply — this is the most personal statement in the Gita: the cosmic Divine expressing profound personal love for the individual student. The most secret teaching (sarva-guhyatama) is not given to everyone — it is given because of this love. V65 reveals WHAT this teaching is; V66 gives the single most secret verse.
Hear again My supreme word, the most secret of all. Because you are deeply dear to Me, I will speak what is for your benefit.
A modern analogy
V64 is Krishna announcing the final and most intimate teaching. After saying 'act as you wish' (V63), He says 'but wait — because I love you deeply, here is the most secret of all.' The sarva-guhyatama teaching is given not to everyone who hears the Gita but specifically to those who are iṣṭa (beloved) — in the text, Arjuna; in practice, the sincere devotee who has received and reflected on the teaching.
V64 marks the transition to the most intimate section of the entire Gita (V64-66). After V63's 'act as you wish' (the teaching-completion marker), V64 opens a new, more intimate register: bhūyaḥ śṛṇu (listen once more) + iṣṭo 'si me dṛḍham (you are deeply dear to Me). This is Krishna speaking not as universal teacher but as the Beloved friend: what follows (V65-66) is given specifically because of love. V65 gives the four-fold bhakti-practice; V66 gives the one verse that encapsulates mokṣa itself.
The shift from guhyād guhya-taram (V63) to sarva-guhyatamam (V64) is the Gita's internal escalation: each chapter's 'secret' has been deeper (guhya in Ch.9, guhyatara in Ch.18 V63, sarva-guhyatama now). The reason for the escalation is love (iṣṭo 'si dṛḍham), not mere knowledge-level. The deepest teaching requires the deepest intimacy to transmit. This is the guru-śiṣya (teacher-student) relationship at its most fundamental: the highest wisdom is given out of love, not mere pedagogical sequence.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Hear thou again My word supreme, the most secret of all; because thou art My firm friend, therefore will I tell thee what is good. [1]
Hear thou again My supreme word, the profoundest of all; because thou art dearly beloved of Me, therefore, will I speak what is good to thee. [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
Once more, listen to my supernal words, the most mysterious of all. Exceedingly dear art thou to Me, therefore, I will declare what is for thy benefit. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Brahman-become, serene, neither grieving nor desiring, equal to all beings — he attains supreme bhakti to Me.
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
Lift the self by the Self; let not the self drown itself — you alone are your own friend and your own foe.
Surrender all action to Me, mind on the Self, free from hope and possessiveness — then fight, free from fever.
I am the Goal, Lord, Witness, Abode, Refuge, Friend — and the Origin, Dissolution, Seed imperishable.