Sanskrit
य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह । सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते ॥
ya evaṃ vetti puruṣaṃ prakṛtiṃ ca guṇaiḥ saha sarvathā vartamāno 'pi na sa bhūyo 'bhijāyate
Translation
He who thus knoweth Spirit and Matter with its qualities, in whatsoever condition he may be, he shall not be born again.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A direct liberation claim, closing the verses 20-23 unit: knowing purusha and prakriti together with the gunas — not just knowing they’re distinct in the abstract, but the specific relationship laid out across the last four verses — ends rebirth regardless of one’s present circumstances (“in whatsoever condition he may be”). The chapter is consistent that the knowledge itself is what liberates, not any particular external practice, which is why verse 25 immediately widens out to acknowledge several different routes to that same knowledge. A direct liberation claim — knowing puruṣa and prakṛti together with the guṇas, i.e. the specific relationship of BG 13.20–BG 13.23, ends rebirth regardless of present circumstances. The knowledge itself liberates, which is why BG 13.25 widens to several routes to it.
Study deeper
Word by word
- ya evaṃ vetti puruṣaṃय एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं
- who thus knows spirit (yaḥ + evam + vetti + puruṣam)
- prakṛtiṃ ca guṇaiḥ sahaप्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह
- and nature together with the guṇas (prakṛtim + ca + guṇaiḥ + saha)
- sarvathā vartamāno 'piसर्वथा वर्तमानो ऽपि
- in whatever condition he lives (sarvathā + vartamānaḥ + api)
- na sa bhūyo 'bhijāyateन स भूयो ऽभिजायते
- he is not born again (na + saḥ + bhūyaḥ + abhijāyate)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The claim here is unconditional — liberation regardless of “whatsoever condition” one is in — which makes verse 25’s immediate concession of multiple paths almost necessary rather than an afterthought. A claim this strong about the destination would otherwise seem to smuggle in a claim about the one correct route, and the very next verse heads that off.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you're certain a particular kind of understanding would change everything for you regardless of your current situation, don't assume there's only one route to it — hold the confidence in the destination loosely enough to accept more than one path there.
Professional
- State the outcome you're confident in without over-specifying the one method that gets there — 'this will resolve regardless of current state' is a claim about the destination, not a mandate that only your preferred approach can reach it.
Family & Social
- When you tell someone 'this will work out no matter where you're starting from,' be ready to mean it literally — don't quietly reserve that promise for only the path you'd have chosen for them.
Ask yourself
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