वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन | भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन ||२६||
vedāhaṃ samatītāni vartamānāni cārjuna | bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni māṃ tu veda na kaścana || 26 ||
I know all beings — past, present, and future, O Arjuna — but Me, none knows.
Word by word (3)
- veda ahaṃ samatītāni vartamānāni ca arjuna bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni
- — I know all past beings, and present, O Arjuna, and those that are to come · veda = I know (from √vid = to know; veda = I know — the same root as Veda, the body of knowledge; here first-person singular: 'I know'). ahaṃ = I. samatītāni = all past (sam = fully, completely; atīta = past, gone by; samatītāni = all the past beings/events — the complete past). vartamānāni = the present (vartamāna = what is presently existing — the present-moment beings and events). ca = and. arjuna = O Arjuna. bhaviṣyāṇi = the future (bhaviṣya = what will be — the future beings and events). ca = and. bhūtāni = beings (from √bhū = to be; bhūta = that which has become, a being — here referring to all beings across the three times). The declaration: Krishna knows ALL beings — past (samatītāni), present (vartamānāni), and future (bhaviṣyāṇi). This is the claim of temporal omniscience — the Divine's awareness encompasses all three temporal dimensions simultaneously, something impossible for the time-bound human knower.
- māṃ tu veda na kaścana
- — but Me — none knows · māṃ = Me (accusative — the object). tu = but (strong contrastive). veda = knows (same verb — 'knows Me'). na = not. kaścana = any, anyone (na kaścana = no one, none at all — the universal negative). The asymmetry: I know all beings across all three times (V26a); but no one (kaścana) knows Me (V26b). This is the asymmetry between the Divine and the world: the Divine is the omniscient knower of all beings across time; the beings are the unknowing-of-the-Divine (due to yoga-māyā, V25). The asymmetry is not permanent: V27-30 will describe those who ARE in the process of coming to know the Divine. But for the world in general: māṃ tu veda na kaścana — the Divine knows all; all do not know the Divine.
- V26's temporal omniscience — why it matters for yoga practice
- — knowing all beings across past, present, and future — the Divine's knowing is from the vantage of the timeless, not from within time · V26's temporal omniscience (knowing the past, present, and future simultaneously) is not just a claim about Krishna's power — it is a pointer to the nature of the Divine's knowing itself. Human knowing is sequential: we know the present from within the present, recall the past as memory, anticipate the future as inference. The Divine's knowing is simultaneous — all three times are present to the avyakta (V24) ground that is prior to time. This is why the Divine 'knows' the future: not as prediction but as the timeless ground from which all temporal events arise. The jñānī who realizes 'vāsudevaḥ sarvam' (V19) participates in this timeless knowing — hence their quality of nitya-yukta (V17's perpetual union) which is independent of the present moment's content.
V26 declares the Divine's temporal omniscience: Krishna knows all beings (bhūtāni) across all three times — past (samatītāni), present (vartamānāni), future (bhaviṣyāṇi). The paradoxical complement: māṃ tu veda na kaścana — but the Divine, none knows. The asymmetry is complete: the Divine knows all beings; no being knows the Divine (due to yoga-māyā of V25).
A modern analogy
The ocean knows every wave that has ever arisen in it, is arising, and will arise — because the ocean IS the ground of all waves. The individual wave does not 'know' the ocean in the same way — it arises from the ocean but does not encompass it. V26's asymmetry: the ocean-Divine knows all wave-beings; the wave-beings do not know the ocean-Divine.
What it does NOT mean
V26 does NOT say the Divine's omniscience is oppressive or surveillance-like. The knowing is from the vantage of the timeless ground, not a cosmic monitoring system. V26-30 together will show that the path from 'none knows Me' (V26) to 'those who know Me' (V28-30) is the arc of Ch.7's teaching.
Take with you
- V26's temporal omniscience means the Divine is never surprised by anything — not by your struggles, your failures, your ignorance, your growing. All of it is known within the timeless ground. This is simultaneously humbling (no hiding) and liberating (no need to hide).
- V26's 'māṃ tu veda na kaścana' (none knows Me) refers to the world in its default state (V25's yoga-māyā). V28-30 will immediately begin describing those who ARE coming to know the Divine — those who have crossed the delusion of dualities. V26 is the diagnosis; V28-30 is the path.
- V26 as motivation: the Divine knows you completely — past, present, and future. And yet you don't know the Divine. This asymmetry is not a threat but an invitation: what would it be like to know the One who knows you so completely?
V26 establishes the Divine's perspective within V24-30's arc: the Supreme knows all beings across all time (V26a), is known by none in its default state (V26b, due to yoga-māyā of V25). This asymmetric knowing is the theological basis for the Gita's teaching: the Divine's knowing is from the timeless vantage of the avyakta ground; the beings' not-knowing is the condition of temporal existence under yoga-māyā. The temporal omniscience ('past, present, future') is theologically connected to V24's avyakta (unmanifest, timeless ground): the Divine knows all three times simultaneously because the Divine is prior to time — the avyakta that is not born into time and does not end with time. From the timeless vantage, all temporal events are known as they are, were, and will be. V26b's 'māṃ tu veda na kaścana' (none knows Me) prepares for the exception that V28-30 will immediately introduce: some DO come to know the Divine — those freed from duality-delusion (V28), those striving for liberation (V29), those who know Krishna as the complete reality (V30). V26 states the universal condition; V28-30 describes the path of exceptions.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: the Divine's temporal omniscience is Brahman's self-knowledge appearing as knowledge of all beings (since all beings are Brahman's own expression). 'None knows Me' is the condition of avidyā (ignorance): Brahman does not know itself as the beings' ground, and the beings do not know themselves as Brahman. Realization is Brahman recognizing itself in both directions: the recognition 'vāsudevaḥ sarvam' ends the asymmetry.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V26's 'I know all beings' is a statement of the Lord's complete care: the Beloved knows the devotee completely — every prayer, every struggle, every moment of sincere seeking. 'None knows Me' is the veil (yoga-māyā) that bhakti gradually dissolves through devotion. The deepest bhakti is the recognition: 'You know me completely; I am learning to know You.'
Karma-Yoga lens
V26 contextualizes karma yoga: all actions (past, present, future) are known by the Divine. This makes the offering of action to the Divine not a symbolic gesture but a direct recognition: the action is known to the Divine before, during, and after the offering. The karma yogi's offering is received by an Aware ground.
Modern parallels
V26's temporal omniscience parallels the philosophical concept of 'block universe' (eternalism in physics) — the view that past, present, and future all exist equally from a timeless perspective. From the 'block universe' vantage point, all events are simultaneously present; human experience of time as sequential is a feature of consciousness embedded in time, not of reality as such. V26's Divine knows from the 'block universe' vantage.
Practice
V26 asymmetry practice: in meditation, rest in the two sides of V26's asymmetry. First: 'The Divine knows me completely — past, present, and future.' Let that knowing be felt as the ground's transparent awareness of all that arises in it. Then: 'I am learning to know the Divine.' Let the practice be this learning — not a performance for a judging observer but genuine inquiry into the Ground that already knows everything including this inquiry.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
I know all past beings, and present, O Arjuna, and those that are to come; but Me none knoweth. [1]
I know, O Arjuna, the beings of the whole past, and the present, and the future, but Me none knoweth. [4]
I know the beings that are past, that are present, that are to come, O Arjuna, but no one knoweth Me. [5]
I know everything that hath existed, doth exist, and shall exist, O Arjuna; but none of them knoweth me. [6]
All I know, Arjuna, how all beings were in time gone by, and all that are, and all that yet shall be. But there is none who knoweth Me! [7]
I know those that are past, those that are present, O Arjuna, and those that are to come, but nobody knoweth Me. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Veiled by yoga-māyā, I am not manifest to all — this deluded world does not recognize Me, the Unborn, the Imperishable.
All beings fall into complete delusion at birth — through the dvandva-moha arising from desire and aversion.
Both of us have had many births. I know all of them — you do not. That is the difference.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Your body changed from childhood to age without 'you' dying — changing bodies is no different.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.