Sanskrit
स एवाऽयं मया तेऽद्य योगः प्रोक्तः पुरातनः । भक्तोऽसि मे सखा चेति रहस्यं ह्येतदुत्तमम् ॥
sa evāyaṃ mayā te 'dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ bhakto 'si me sakhā ceti rahasyaṃ hy etad uttamam
Translation
This same ancient yoga hath been to-day declared to thee by Me, for thou art My devotee and My friend; it is the supreme Secret.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna closes the frame narrative he opened in verse 1 by naming Arjuna directly as the reason for receiving this “supreme Secret” today: devotion and friendship, not merit or seniority, are given as the qualification. That’s a notable shift from the royal-sage lineage of verse 2 to a personal relationship as the basis for transmission, and it’s this claim of continuity and privilege that Arjuna immediately questions. Bhakto ‘si me sakhā ca — “you are my devotee and my friend” — makes the qualifying condition relational, not scholastic. It is the first time the chapter sounds the bhakti note that chapters 7–12 will amplify into the Gita’s central path.
Study deeper
Word by word
- sa evāyaṃस एवायं
- this very one (saḥ + eva + ayam)
- mayā te 'dyaमया ते ऽद्य
- by me, to you, today (mayā + te + adya)
- yogaḥयोगः
- yoga
- proktaḥप्रोक्तः
- has been declared
- purātanaḥपुरातनः
- the ancient
- bhakto 'si meभक्तो ऽसि मे
- you are my devotee (bhaktaḥ + asi + me)
- sakhā cetiसखा चेति
- and my friend (sakhā + ca + iti)
- rahasyaṃरहस्यं
- secret
- hy etad uttamamह्य् एतद् उत्तमं
- for this is supreme (hi + etat + uttamam)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Two different logics of entitlement sit back to back across verses 2 and 3 without being reconciled: royal-sage lineage in one, personal relationship in the next. Krishna doesn’t argue that relationship outranks pedigree — he simply switches the basis of qualification entirely, from an inherited line Arjuna doesn’t belong to, toward something Arjuna actually has: trust and closeness.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- If you feel unqualified for something because you lack the pedigree others had, remember that access often runs on a completely different track — demonstrated trust and closeness — that you can build regardless of where you started.
Professional
- When you're passed real responsibility ahead of more tenured colleagues, recognize it's likely running on the relationship-and-trust track rather than the seniority track — and that both are legitimate bases, not a shortcut you need to apologize for.
Family & Social
- Standing in a family isn't only inherited by birth order or role — it's also built through the quality of an actual relationship, so invest there rather than assuming your position is fixed by where you fall in the family line.
Ask yourself
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