एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदुः । स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परन्तप ॥
evaṃ paramparā-prāptam imaṃ rājarṣayo viduḥ | sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa ||
Royal sages received this yoga through succession — but vast time destroyed it. That is why it must be re-taught.
Word by word (3)
- paramparā-prāptam imaṃ rājarṣayaḥ viduḥ
- — received through succession, this the royal sages knew · Paramparā = succession, lineage (param+para = one after another). Prāpta = received, obtained. Rājarṣayaḥ = royal sages (rājan = king + ṛṣi = sage — the philosopher-kings who combined ruling with wisdom, like Janaka of V3.20). This yoga was the living inheritance of the wise rulers of civilization.
- sa kālena mahatā yogaḥ naṣṭaḥ
- — that yoga was lost over great time · Sa = that. Kālena = by time (instrumental — time as the agent of loss). Mahatā = great, long. Naṣṭa = lost, destroyed (from naś). The honest acknowledgment: even the greatest transmission can be lost. Time and the entropy of each age erode the purity of teachings. This is why periodic renewal (avatāra) is necessary — V7-8 will explain.
- parantapa
- — parantapa = O scorcher of enemies (para = enemies; tapa = scorcher/burner from tap = to heat; an epithet of Arjuna as the warrior whose heat/power destroys foes) — the choice of this epithet here is significant: the yoga was preserved by rāja-ṛṣis (warrior-sages) and is being told to a warrior; and the yoga's 'loss' is precisely the tragedy that produces parantapas who fight without wisdom
Thus received through an unbroken succession, the royal sages knew this yoga. But through the passage of great time, O Arjuna, this yoga was lost in this world.
A modern analogy
Craft traditions die. Languages go extinct. Medical knowledge that took centuries to accumulate can vanish in a generation if not actively transmitted. V2: the greatest wisdom is not self-sustaining — it requires living teachers, living practice, and periodic renewal to survive the entropy of time.
Take with you
- Paramparā (succession) is not just lineage — it is the living act of transmission that keeps wisdom alive.
- Even the most profound teaching can be lost — this is why the tradition of teacher-student is sacred.
- Naṣṭa (lost) sets up V3's logic: the yoga must be re-taught because it was lost — not because Arjuna is special.
- Every generation must actively receive and re-embody inherited wisdom, or it dies with the generation before.
V2 introduces the concept of yugic decline — the idea that dharma and wisdom erode over cosmic time. The transmission chain of V1 (Krishna → Vivasvān → Manu → Ikṣvāku → royal sages) was intact in a golden age. But 'great time' (mahā-kāla) erodes it: teachings become diluted, misunderstood, corrupted, or simply forgotten. Shankaracharya reads V2 as the setup for V7-8's avatāra doctrine: because teachings periodically become naṣṭa (lost), the divine principle periodically re-manifests to restore them. The Gita itself is that restoration — this very conversation is the re-teaching. Arjuna is not merely receiving a personal answer to his crisis; he is receiving the re-transmission of the cosmic yoga for his age.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Thus received in regular succession, the royal sages knew this. But through long lapse of time this Yoga has been lost here, O Parantapa. [1]
This, handed down thus in regular succession, the royal sages knew. This Yoga, by long lapse of time, has been lost here, O Parantapa. [4]
The Royal Sages knew this devotion as thus handed down by degrees; but, O Parantapa, this devotion has been lost in the world by long discontinuance. [6]
Thus handed down in line from king to king, The sages knew it; but with lapse of time That precious knowledge perished. [7]
Thus handed down in regular succession, the royal sages knew this. But, O terror of foes, through the great lapse of time, this Yoga has been lost here. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Brahman-become, serene, neither grieving nor desiring, equal to all beings — he attains supreme bhakti to Me.
Not even the greatest kingdom imaginable can cure this grief — material solutions have reached their limit.
Unmanifest, inconceivable, unchangeable — knowing this, you should not grieve.