Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 14

English Translation

O Kesava, I accept to be true all this which You tell me. Certainly, O Lord, neither the gods nor the demons comprehend Your glory.

Detailed Commentary

।।10.14।। Explanation -- "सर्वमेतदृतं मन्ये यन्मां वदसि केशव" -- 'Ka' refers to Brahmā, 'A' to Viṣṇu, 'Īśa' to Śaṅkara, and 'Va' to the very essence. Thus, He whose essence is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śaṅkara, is called 'Keśava'. Arjuna's address here as 'Keśava' implies that You alone are the creator, sustainer, and annihilator of the universe. What You have told me about Yourself from the seventh to the ninth chapter, I accept as truth; and the description of Your *Vibhūtis* (divine manifestations) and *Yoga* (mystic power) in the tenth chapter, that too I accept as truth. It is my firm belief that You are the originator and controller of all. There can be no one separate from You. You are supreme. I have no doubt in this. In the path of *Bhakti* (devotion), faith is paramount. The Lord had previously asked Arjuna to listen to the supreme words; Arjuna here expresses his faith by calling them 'Ṛtam', meaning truth. "न हि ते भगवन् व्यक्तिं विदुर्देवा न दानवाः" -- You (in Gita 4.5) have said that You and I have passed through many births, which You know, but I do not. Similarly (in 10.2), it is stated that *Devas* (gods) and *Maharṣis* (great sages) do not know Your origin. All that You have said about Your manifestation is true. Because even the *Devas*, who possess more knowledge than humans, do not know the divine essence of the Lord (*Bhagavattattva*). Their divinity is subject to creation and destruction. Therefore, they cannot possess complete knowledge of Your manifestation. If the *Devas* do not know, how can the *Dānavas* (demons) know? *Dānavas* are mentioned because they possess strange *māyā* (illusory power), but through that, they cannot know the Lord. Their *māyā* is weak before the Lord. Because all the powers of *Prakṛti* (material nature) are transcended by the Lord. The Lord is infinite (*Ananta*) and limitless (*Asīma*), while the *māyā* of the *Dānavas* is limited and perishable. It is impossible to know the limitless through a limited object. This means that humans, *Devas*, *Dānavas*, or any other being, cannot know the Lord by their own power. Whatever abilities humans possess are all *prākṛt* (material), and the Lord transcends *Prakṛti*. Renunciation (*Tyāga*), detachment (*Vairāgya*), austerity (*Tapa*), self-study (*Svādhyāya*), etc., purify the mind, but one cannot know the Lord by their strength alone. The Lord can only be known by taking refuge in Him and through His grace. (Gita 10.11, 11.54)