Sanskrit
यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम् । यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम् ॥
yad ādityagataṃ tejo jagad bhāsayate 'khilam yac candramasi yac cāgnau tat tejo viddhi māmakam
Translation
That splendour issuing from the sun that enlighteneth the whole world, that which is in the moon and in fire, that splendour know as from Me.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The chapter pivots here from psychology and metaphysics into Krishna narrating his own presence in natural phenomena, a compressed reprise of the vibhuti (manifestation) teaching that occupied the whole of chapter 10. Sun, moon, and fire were named in verse 6 as things the supreme abode does not need; here the same three are reclaimed as places where Krishna’s own light shows up in the ordinary world — a pointed structural pairing, transcendent beyond light and immanent as light in successive verses. A brief return to the vibhūti mode: the illuminating power in sun, moon, and fire alike is one thing, and it is Krishna’s. Note the contrast with BG 15.6: those lights cannot reach the supreme abode, but they are still his light.
Study deeper
Word by word
- yad ādityagataṃ tejoयद् आदित्यगतं तेजो
- the light that is in the sun (yat + āditya-gatam + tejaḥ)
- jagad bhāsayate 'khilamजगद् भासयते ऽखिलं
- lighting up the whole world (jagat + bhāsayate + akhilam)
- yac candramasi yac cāgnauयच् चन्द्रमसि यच् चाग्नौ
- that which is in the moon, and in fire (yat + candramasi + yat + ca + agnau)
- tat tejo viddhi māmakamतत् तेजो विद्धि मामकं
- know that light to be Mine (tat + tejaḥ + viddhi + māmakam)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Six verses earlier, sun, moon, and fire were named as things the supreme abode specifically does not need; here the same three return, reclaimed as places where that same light actually shows up in the visible world. The pairing isn’t a contradiction to smooth over — it’s a deliberate structural move, transcendent beyond light in one verse and immanent as light a few verses later, and both claims are meant to stand at once.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- A person or value can be genuinely independent of any single form it takes and still be fully expressed through every one of those same forms. Hold both truths about what matters to you, rather than assuming independence from something means opposition to it.
Professional
- A platform can be architected to depend on no single vendor or tool while still being meaningfully expressed through each one you currently use. Don't read vendor-independence as vendor-hostility — the two claims, held together, are actually the more mature design position.
Family & Social
- A parent's love can be something that doesn't depend on any single gesture — a gift, a specific ritual — and still be genuinely expressed through every one of those gestures. Both things can be true about the same relationship at once.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.