Sanskrit
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः । तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥ ७८ ॥
yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama
Translation
Wherever is Krishna, Yoga's Lord, wherever is Pârtha, the archer, assured are there prosperity, victory and happiness. So I think.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The Gita’s final verse, and one of its most quoted: wherever Krishna, Lord of Yoga, and Arjuna, the archer, are together, there is glory, victory, abundance, and sure conduct — “so I think,” in Sanjaya’s own closing judgment. It’s a fitting single line to end on: not a claim that transcendence replaces action or that action needs no transcendence, but that their union — divine wisdom paired with human skill, exactly the pairing chapter 2 first proposed as the answer to Arjuna’s crisis — is where success actually lives. The Gita’s last verse, and Sanjaya’s verdict: yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ — where the Lord of Yoga and the disciplined archer are together, “there is fortune, victory, welfare, and sound conduct.” Wisdom and action, not either alone.
Study deeper
Word by word
- yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇoयत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो
- where there is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga (yatra + yoga-īśvaraḥ + kṛṣṇaḥ)
- yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥयत्र पार्थो धनुः-धरः
- where there is Pārtha, the archer (yatra + pārthaḥ + dhanuḥ-dharaḥ)
- tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtirतत्र श्रीः विजयो भूतिः
- there is fortune, victory, welfare (tatra + śrīḥ + vijayaḥ + bhūtiḥ)
- dhruvā nītir matir mamaध्रुवा नीतिः मतिः मम
- and sound conduct — such is my conviction (dhruvā + nītiḥ + matiḥ + mama)
Commentary
Site Commentary
In its very last line, the poem doesn’t name Krishna and Arjuna as individuals — it names their functions: yogeśvara, Lord of Yoga, and dhanur-dharaḥ, the one who holds the bow. The closing claim isn’t about these two specific identities being present, it’s about the pairing of two functions, wisdom-that-guides and skill-that-acts, being present together — which means the claim, read this way, was never only about them.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you look for what actually makes your own efforts succeed, look past the specific people involved to the functions present — is clear guidance paired with real capability to act — since that pairing, not any one person's identity, is what the outcome usually depends on.
Professional
- When assembling a team for something that matters, look for the pairing of functions — someone who provides real strategic clarity and someone who can actually execute — rather than assuming any specific person's presence guarantees success; the combination is what does the work.
Family & Social
- In a partnership or family decision, look for whether wisdom and capability are actually paired between the people involved, rather than assuming things will work out just because the right people are in the room — it's the combination of functions, not just presence, that carries things through.
Ask yourself
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