Sanskrit
पिताऽसि लोकस्य चराचरस्य त्वमस्य पूज्यश्च गुरुर्गरीयान् । न त्वत्समोऽस्त्यभ्यधिकः कुतोऽन्यो लोकत्रयेऽप्यप्रतिमप्रभावः ॥
pitā'si lokasya carācarasya tvam asya pūjyaś ca gurur garīyān na tvatsamo'sty abhyadhikaḥ kuto'nyo lokatraye'py apratimaprabhāvaḥ
Translation
Father of worlds, of all that moves and stands, Worthier of reverence than the Guru's self, There is none like to Thee. Who passeth Thee? Pre-eminent Thy power in all the worlds.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Having just confessed the impropriety of “friend,” Arjuna doesn’t abandon relational language altogether — he reaches instead for hierarchies that can actually hold what he’s now seen: father, and something owed even more reverence than a guru. Both relationships still involve closeness, but closeness organized by asymmetry rather than by the easy equality “sakhā” implied. It’s a necessary correction before verse 44’s plea, which will ask Krishna to bear with him using exactly the intimate comparisons — father and son, friend and friend — this verse has just finished re-ranking rather than discarding. Having confessed the impropriety of “friend,” Arjuna does not drop relational language — he reaches for hierarchies that can hold what he has seen: father, and something owed more reverence than a guru. Closeness reorganised by asymmetry, not by the easy equality sakhā implied.
Study deeper
Word by word
- pitā'si lokasya carācarasyaपिताऽसि लोकस्य चराचरस्य
- you are the father of the world, moving and unmoving (pitā + asi + lokasya + cara-acarasya)
- tvam asya pūjyaś ca gurur garīyānत्वं अस्य पूज्यश् च गुरुः गरीयान्
- you are its object of worship, the weightiest teacher (tvam + asya + pūjyaḥ + ca + guruḥ + garīyān)
- na tvatsamo'sty abhyadhikaḥ kuto'nyoन त्वत्समोऽस्त्य् अभ्यधिकः कुतोऽन्यो
- none is equal to you — how then a greater? (na + tvat-samaḥ + asti + abhyadhikaḥ + kutaḥ + anyaḥ)
- lokatraye'py apratimaprabhāvaḥलोकत्रयेऽप्य् अप्रतिमप्रभावः
- in the three worlds, O one of matchless power (loka-traye + api + apratima-prabhāvaḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
After four verses of increasingly abstract metaphysical titles — beyond being and non-being, prior to Brahmā — this verse deliberately returns to relational language: father, guru. That return isn’t incidental; an apology, which is what’s coming next, has to be addressed to someone who can be related to. Pure metaphysics can absorb praise, but it can’t receive regret — only a father, a guru, someone in relationship, can be apologized to.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you need to actually repair something with someone, abstract respect or admiration isn't enough of a frame to do it in — repair, unlike praise, needs an addressee who can receive it, so drop back into ordinary relational language first.
Professional
- Formal titles and hierarchy work fine for giving credit, but when you need to actually apologize to a boss or colleague, it helps to briefly step back into more relational terms, the working relationship, the trust, because an apology needs a person to land on.
Family & Social
- Grand statements of respect for a parent or elder aren't the same as the relational footing an apology needs — before repairing something, step back into the ordinary relationship rather than staying in the elevated language of admiration.
Ask yourself
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