Yathora

The Gita · Chapter 4

Bhagavad Gita 4.4

अपरं भवतो जन्म परं जन्म विवस्वतः। कथमेतद्विजानीयां त्वमादौ प्रोक्तवानिति॥

arjuna uvācha aparaṁ bhavato janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ katham etad vijānīyāṁ tvam ādau proktavān iti

Translation

Arjuna said: Later was Thy birth, earlier the birth of Vivasvân; how then am I to understand that Thou declaredst it in the beginning?

What it means

Arjuna objects with logic: Vivasvan was born long before you; how could you have taught him? He takes Krishna's claim seriously enough to test it. Good questions honor a teaching more than easy belief.

Try this today

Arjuna does the honest thing: he asks how the timeline works instead of pretending to accept it.

Something to reflect on

Do I let confusion pass silently to seem agreeable?

Read it in Yathora
← 4.34.5 →

Translation by Annie Besant (1905, public domain). The meanings are original to Yathora, drawn from Shankara’s commentary.