श्रीभगवानुवाच । बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन । तान्यहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca | bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna | tāny ahaṃ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṃ vettha parantapa ||
Both of us have had many births. I know all of them — you do not. That is the difference.
Word by word (3)
- bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava ca
- — many births of Mine have passed, and yours also, Arjuna · Bahūni = many. Vyatītāni = have passed (vi+atīta, from ati+i = to pass beyond). Janmāni = births (plural). Me = My. Tava ca = and yours too. Both Krishna and Arjuna have taken many births. The difference is not in the fact of multiple births but in awareness of them.
- tāni ahaṃ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṃ vettha
- — I know all of them — you do not know, O scorcher of foes · Tāni = those. Aham = I. Veda = I know (perfect tense of vid — the knowing that is complete, not just current). Sarvāṇi = all of them. Na tvaṃ vettha = you do not know. The distinction: same facts (multiple births), different consciousness. Krishna's divine consciousness spans all time; Arjuna's human consciousness is bounded by the present birth.
- parantapa / na tvaṃ vettha
- — parantapa = O scorcher of foes (same epithet as V2; the address to Arjuna-as-warrior frames the cosmic asymmetry: the warrior cannot know what the Divine knows); na tvaṃ vettha = you do not know (na = not; tvaṃ = you; vettha = you know — second-person singular of vid = to know; the asymmetry: aham veda = I know; na tvaṃ vettha = you do not know; this gap is the Gita's central premise: the teaching is needed because the human cannot access what the Divine can)
The Lord said: Many births of Mine have passed, and yours too, O Arjuna. I know all of them — but you do not know them, O scorcher of foes.
A modern analogy
Two people witness the same history. One has perfect memory across centuries — every cause, every connection. The other only remembers today. They're both in the same history, but their understanding is completely different. V5: the difference between Krishna and Arjuna is not in the facts but in the span of knowing.
Take with you
- Multiple births are not unique to Krishna — both have had them. The difference is awareness.
- Divine consciousness spans all time simultaneously; human consciousness is bounded by the current life.
- This verse is a gentle reminder of how much we do not know about our own complete story.
- The humility of 'na tvaṃ vettha' (you do not know) — acknowledging the limits of current awareness — is itself wisdom.
V5 makes a careful statement: Krishna does not claim to be the only one with multiple births — both He and Arjuna have had bahūni (many) janmāni. The unique claim is consciousness: tāny ahaṃ veda sarvāṇi (I know them all). Shankaracharya reads this as the difference between jīva (individual soul bound by māyā) and Īśvara (the divine Lord whose consciousness is not veiled by māyā). The jīva takes birth repeatedly but without memory, because māyā creates the illusion of separate, bounded existence. The divine takes birth (V6 will explain how) while remaining fully aware — the subject of history rather than its object.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
The Blessed Lord said: Many are My past births, and thine also, O Arjuna. I know them all, but thou knowest not, O Parantapa. [1]
The Blessed Lord said: Many births of Mine have passed, as well as of thine, O Arjuna. I know them all, but thou knowest not, O Parantapa. [4]
The Blessed Lord said: Many births have been gone over by me and thee, O Arjuna; I know them all, but thou dost not know them, O Parantapa. [6]
Manifold the renewals of my birth Have been, Arjuna! and of thy births, too! But mine I know, and thine thou knowest not. [7]
The Blessed Lord said: Many births of Mine have passed away, as also of thine, O Arjuna. I know them all, but thou knowest them not, O tormentor of foes. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Though unborn, imperishable, Lord of all — I come into being through My own Māyā. Divine birth is free, not compelled.
You have always existed. You will always exist. There was no time before you, and there will be no time without you.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.
However you approach Me — I respond in that same way. All human paths ultimately follow My path.
Seeing inaction in action, action in inaction — that one is wise, a yogi, a complete doer of all actions.
Nothing in this world purifies like jñāna. The karma-yogi finds it within themselves in time.