Sanskrit
नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन । तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन ॥
naite sṛtī pārtha jānan yogī muhyati kaścana tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu yogayukto bhavārjuna
Translation
Knowing these paths, O Pârtha, the Yogi is nowise perplexed. Therefore in all times be firm in yoga, O Arjuna.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Having laid out the two paths, Krishna draws the practical conclusion: a yogi who knows them is never confused by them, presumably meaning the knowledge itself removes any anxiety about timing one’s death correctly. The instruction that follows, “be firm in yoga at all times,” echoes verse 7 almost verbatim, closing the loop between the opening death-moment teaching and this later, more elaborate cosmology. Sarveṣu kāleṣu yoga-yukto bhava — “at all times, stay yoked” — is BG 8.7 returning as the chapter’s refrain: the answer to every question about death is the same steady practice carried through life. Knowing the paths dissolves the worry, it does not change the instruction.
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Word by word
- naite sṛtī pārtha jānanनैते सृती पार्थ जानन्
- knowing these two paths, O Pārtha (na + ete + sṛtī + pārtha + jānan)
- yogī muhyati kaścanaयोगी मुह्यति कश्चन
- no yogī is ever deluded (yogī + muhyati + kaścana)
- tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣuतस्मात् सर्वेषु कालेषु
- therefore, at all times (tasmāt + sarveṣu + kāleṣu)
- yogayukto bhavārjunaयोगयुक्तो भवार्जुन
- be steadfast in yoga, Arjuna (yoga-yuktaḥ + bhava + arjuna)
Commentary
Site Commentary
“At all times, be firm in yoga” all but repeats verse 7’s “at all times think upon me” — the chapter’s opening instruction and its closing instruction are nearly the same sentence, spoken again only after an entire elaborate cosmology has been introduced in between. The repetition suggests the cosmology was never meant to replace the simple instruction, only to explain why it was worth giving in the first place.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- If you find yourself circling back to nearly the same piece of advice you started with, after a long detour through more complicated reasoning, that's not a sign the detour was wasted — it's often what it takes to actually believe the simple instruction you were given at the start.
Professional
- When a long technical investigation ends with almost the same recommendation the team started with, don't treat the investigation as wasted effort — it often supplies the conviction and detail needed to actually commit to what looked like an obvious answer at the outset.
Family & Social
- If a long, difficult conversation with someone close to you ends up back at nearly the same advice or request you started with, that's not necessarily a failure to progress — sometimes the detour through the harder discussion is what makes the original, simple ask finally land.
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