Sanskrit
विस्तरेणात्मनो योगं विभूतिं च जनार्दन । भूयः कथय तृप्तिर्हि शृण्वतो नास्ति मेऽमृतम् ॥ १८ ॥
vistareṇātmano yogaṃ vibhūtiṃ ca janārdana bhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptir hi śṛṇvato nāsti me'mṛtam
Translation
In detail tell me again of Thy yoga and glory, O Janardana; for me there is never satiety in hearing thy life-giving words.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Closes Arjuna’s three-verse request with a telling admission — no satiety in hearing Krishna’s words. The sequence from verse 16 builds from “tell me” to “how do I meditate on this” to “I could never hear enough,” raising the emotional stakes verse by verse before Krishna answers in verse 19. Tṛptir hi śṛṇvato nāsti me amṛtam — “no fullness for me in hearing this nectar” — is the devotee’s appetite as its own credential: the wish to keep listening is what BG 10.1 meant by prīyamāṇāya, “to one who delights.””
Study deeper
Word by word
- vistareṇātmano yogaṃविस्तरेणात्मनो योगं
- in detail, your yoga [power] (vistareṇa + ātmanaḥ + yogam)
- vibhūtiṃ ca janārdanaविभूतिं च जनार्दन
- and your glory, O Janārdana (vibhūtim + ca + janārdana)
- bhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptir hiभूयः कथय तृप्तिः हि
- tell again — for there is no satiety (bhūyaḥ + kathaya + tṛptiḥ + hi)
- śṛṇvato nāsti me'mṛtamशृण्वतो नास्ति मेऽमृतं
- in hearing your nectar (śṛṇvataḥ + na + asti + me + amṛtam)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Read verses 16-18 together and the escalation looks deliberate: “tell me” becomes “how do I meditate on this” becomes “I could never hear enough.” Arjuna doesn’t front-load his strongest statement — he builds toward it, so that by the time Krishna answers in verse 19, the emotional stakes of the request are already at their highest point.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When making an important ask, consider building to your strongest statement of need rather than opening with it — this verse closes a three-verse request with "I could never hear enough" after starting with a plain "tell me." An escalating ask can land with more weight than the same conviction stated all at once.
Professional
- When pitching an investment case across a multi-part proposal, build the stakes progressively rather than front-loading your strongest argument — this verse is the third and most intense step in a request that started simply and escalated. A case that builds keeps the audience's attention rising toward the final ask.
Family & Social
- When you're trying to tell someone how much they mean to you, let the expression build across the conversation rather than opening with the biggest statement — this verse is the emotional peak of a three-verse request that started plainly. A slow escalation often lands more genuinely than an upfront declaration.
Ask yourself
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