Sanskrit
न मे विदुः सुरगणाः प्रभवं न महर्षयः । अहमादिर्हि देवानां महर्षीणां च सर्वशः ॥ २ ॥
na me viduḥ suragaṇāḥ prabhavaṃ na maharṣayaḥ ahamādir hi devānāṃ maharṣīṇāṃ ca sarvaśaḥ
Translation
The multitude of the Shining Ones, or the great Rishis, know not my forthcoming, for I am the beginning of all the Shining Ones and the great Rishis.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A claim of self-causation: neither the gods nor the great Rishis know Krishna’s origin, because he is prior to and the origin of both classes. This sets the metaphysical ceiling the rest of the chapter operates under — every specific manifestation named from verse 21 onward is downstream of a source that is, by this verse’s own logic, unknowable in the ordinary sense. Aham ādir hi devānām — “for I am the origin of the gods” — makes the Lord unknowable to what he originates: gods and sages can no more grasp their source than an effect can contain its cause. BG 10.14 has Arjuna confirm the same limit from below.
Study deeper
Word by word
- na me viduḥ suragaṇāḥन मे विदुः सुरगणाः
- the hosts of gods do not know My (na + me + viduḥ + sura-gaṇāḥ)
- prabhavaṃ na maharṣayaḥप्रभवं न महर्षयः
- origin, nor the great sages (prabhavam + na + mahā-ṛṣayaḥ)
- ahamādir hi devānāṃअहमादिः हि देवानां
- for I am the source of the gods (aham + ādiḥ + hi + devānām)
- maharṣīṇāṃ ca sarvaśaḥमहर्षीणां च सर्वशः
- and of the great sages in every way (mahā-ṛṣīṇām + ca + sarvaśaḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Verse 2 spends its entire content on what even the gods and great Rishis cannot know, before the chapter has offered a single instance of what Krishna actually is. Establishing a limit up front — this is knowable, that isn’t — turns everything that follows from verse 21 onward into partial glimpses inside a stated boundary, rather than a claim to completeness the list could never live up to.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Before sharing what you know on a topic, say plainly what remains genuinely uncertain to you — the way this verse states a limit before any content follows. Naming the boundary first keeps whatever you say next honest about being partial, not complete.
Professional
- When presenting a roadmap or estimate, state the explicit unknowns before the details, not after — the way Krishna sets a limit on knowability before a single manifestation is named. It frames everything that follows as current best understanding, not a guarantee of completeness.
Family & Social
- When explaining a hard decision to family, admit upfront what you genuinely can't promise before laying out your reasoning. Stating the boundary of what you know first, rather than burying it later, keeps trust intact when reality doesn't match every detail you gave.
Ask yourself
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