Chapter 7 · Verse 3·Spoken by Krishna
मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्िचद्यतति सिद्धये। यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्िचन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः
manuṣhyāṇāṁ sahasreṣhu kaśhchid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaśhchin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
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Sanskrit recitation by Swami Brahmānanda
Audio from the Gītā Supersite, IIT Kanpur
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Reading set · 5 translations · 3 commentaries
Translation · 5 voices
Among thousands of men, a rare one endeavors for perfection. Even among the perfected ones who are diligent, one perchance knows Me in truth.
Swami Gambiranandaafter Śaṅkara's bhāṣya· paired with Śaṅkara
Among thousands of men, some strive for perfection; even among those who strive for perfection, only some know Me; and among those who know Me, only some truly know Me.
Swami Adidevanandaafter Rāmānuja's bhāṣya· paired with Rāmānuja
Among thousands of men, perhaps one makes an effort for the determined knowledge. Among those, even though they make an effort, perhaps one realizes Me correctly with the determined knowledge.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayanafter Madhva's bhāṣya· paired with Madhva
Among thousands of men, one may perchance strive for perfection; even among those successful strivers, only one may perchance know Me in essence.
Swami SivanandaThe Bhagavad Gita
Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection, and even among those who gain occult powers, perhaps only one knows me in truth.
Shri Purohit SwamiThe Geeta
Among thousands of men, among many, someone strives, makes effort, for perfection. And of those who strive and are perfected, for those who strive for liberation are indeed already perfected, of them only someone truly knows Me, as I am. Having turned the listener toward Him by this allurement, He says.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.
Among men fit to be qualified for scripture, in their thousands, scarcely one strives as far as consummation. Among those who strive as far as consummation, in their thousands, scarcely one, having known Me, strives for consummation through Me. Among those who know Me, in their thousands, no one knows Me truly, as I really stand. This is the import. For it will be said, 'that great soul is exceedingly hard to find', and 'but no one knows Me'.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.
This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.
Krishna states the rarity of this knowledge, with 'among men'.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.