श्रीभगवानुवाच । इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम् । विवस्वान्मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत् ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca | imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavān aham avyayam | vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt ||
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Word by word (3)
- imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavān aham avyayam
- — I declared this imperishable yoga to Vivasvān (the sun-god) · Imam = this (the yoga just taught in Ch.2-3). Vivasvate = to Vivasvān (dative — the solar deity, progenitor of the solar dynasty). Proktavān = I declared, I taught (past active participle of pra+vac). Aham = I (Krishna). Avyayam = imperishable (a+vyaya = not subject to decay). Krishna opens Ch.4 by placing the just-completed karma-yoga teaching in cosmic time: this yoga is not new — it was taught at the very beginning of creation.
- vivasvān manave prāha
- — Vivasvān taught it to Manu · Vivasvān = the sun-god (source of light and righteous order). Manave = to Manu (progenitor of humanity — manu is the root of 'man'). Prāha = taught, declared (from pra+āha, aorist of vac). The transmission chain descends: from the divine (Vivasvān) to the human ancestor (Manu).
- manuḥ ikṣvākave abravīt
- — Manu taught it to Ikṣvāku · Manu = the progenitor of humanity (Manu Vaivasvata, the seventh Manu). Ikṣvākave = to Ikṣvāku (dative — founder of the Solar dynasty, ancestor of Rāma). Abravīt = he said, he taught. The chain completes: Krishna → Vivasvān → Manu → Ikṣvāku → the line of kings. This yoga has been the secret of righteous rulership since the beginning of civilization.
The Lord said: I taught this imperishable yoga to Vivasvān (the sun-god). Vivasvān taught it to Manu (the progenitor of humanity). Manu taught it to Ikṣvāku (founder of the royal solar dynasty).
A modern analogy
The greatest truths are not invented — they are remembered and transmitted. A master teacher passes wisdom to a student, who passes it on, who passes it on. The chain matters: what you are learning has been tested across generations, not invented yesterday. V1 establishes karma-yoga as time-tested, not theoretical.
Take with you
- Avyayam — imperishable. This yoga does not become obsolete. Its principles are not cultural or historical but structural.
- The transmission chain (Krishna → Vivasvān → Manu → Ikṣvāku → kings) places wisdom inside history, not above it.
- What you are receiving now is the same transmission — adapted in language, unchanged in essence.
- V1 opens Ch.4 by giving the karma-yoga of Ch.3 its deepest credentials: it is ancient, tested, royal, cosmic.
V1 opens Chapter 4 with a cosmic reframe of everything taught in Ch.2-3. Krishna has just given Arjuna the full karma-yoga teaching. Now He situates it: this yoga (imaṃ yogam) is avyaya (imperishable) — it was taught at the very beginning of cosmic time, to Vivasvān (the solar principle), then to Manu (the human progenitor), then to Ikṣvāku (the founder of righteous kingship). Shankaracharya reads the transmission chain as showing that this yoga has been the practical wisdom of those responsible for maintaining dharmic order in the world — kings, sages, and cosmic principles. It is not esoteric or new but the original technology of right action. The implication: what Arjuna is receiving on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra is the same transmission that has guided every great figure since the beginning of civilization.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya notes that the transmission chain also demonstrates the avyayatā (imperishability) of the Ātman through all apparent change: the yoga was taught 'in the beginning' by the same Krishna who stands before Arjuna — emphasizing the eternal, unchanging nature of the divine teacher. The yoga itself is Brahman-knowledge in action-form, which by definition cannot decay.
Bhakti lens
V1's transmission lineage — Vivasvān → Manu → Ikṣvāku → the lineage of rāja-ṛṣis — reveals the bhakti dimension of guru-paramparā (chain of teachers). The yoga is preserved not through books or institutions but through devoted human relationships across time. Each transmission is an act of love from teacher to student: 'I give you what was given to me.' For bhakti, this chain is itself sacred: every teaching we receive carries the devotion of countless teachers across time. Krishna's own declaration — imam… imāṃ rājarṣayo viduḥ (this, which the royal sages knew) — is simultaneously a love-letter from the Divine across millennia and the foundation for the bhakta's trust in the living tradition.
Karma-Yoga lens
Tilak used V1 to argue that karma-yoga is the foundational teaching of Indian civilization, not a derivative of jñāna or bhakti. The transmission to Vivasvān (light/energy), then to Manu (humanity), then to Ikṣvāku (righteous kingship) places karma-yoga at the origin of civilizational order. This is why, Tilak argued, the Gita is ultimately a call to engaged righteous action — the primordial royal duty that begins at the dawn of human time.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
The Blessed Lord said: I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvat; Vivasvat taught it to Manu; Manu told it to Ikshvaku. [1]
The Blessed Lord said: I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvat; Vivasvat taught it to Manu; Manu told it to Ikshvaku. [4]
The Blessed Lord said: I taught this imperishable devotion to Vivaswat; Vivaswat taught it to Manu, and Manu to Ikshwaku. [6]
I taught this deathless Yoga to Vivaswat, Vivaswat to Manu, and Manu made It known to Ikshwaku. [7]
The Blessed Lord said: I proclaimed this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvat; Vivasvat declared it to Manu; Manu told it to Ikshvaku. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Royal sages received this yoga through succession — but vast time destroyed it. That is why it must be re-taught.
I give you this ancient yoga today because you are My devotee and friend — this is the supreme secret.
Royal knowledge, royal secret — supreme purifier, directly known, easy to practice, of imperishable nature.
Intellect, wisdom, patience, truth, calm, restraint, joy, pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness — all arise from Me.
Your body changed from childhood to age without 'you' dying — changing bodies is no different.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?