A core teaching · expansive in mood · a little context helps
“All lineages and worlds emerge from Krishna’s mind.”
The seven great sages, the four ancient sages, and the fourteen Manus were born from my mind. The people of these worlds descend from them.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallygreat sages · seven · earlier · four · Manus · and · born from my being · from the mind · born · from whom · worlds · these · people
Krishna says that the great sages, the ancient sages, and the Manus all arose from him, and all beings in these worlds descend through them.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Vibhuti Yoga" (The Yoga of Divine Glories).
Verse 6 sits in Chapter 10 of the Bhagavad Gita — Vibhuti Yoga, "The Yoga of Divine Glories". The chapter has 42 verses in total.
During a wedding, an elder recites the family's gotra and lineage back several generations. Krishna traces every such line further still, to the sages and Manus born from his own mind.
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The seven sages, the four elder sages and the Manus came from Krishna's mind, and all people descend from them.
What this verse means
Krishna says that the great sages, the ancient sages, and the Manus all arose from him, and all beings in these worlds descend through them.
Context & commentary
Krishna answers Arjuna’s need to see beyond the battlefield. After naming his divine qualities, he points to the cosmic chain of creation: sages, primordial teachers, Manus, and all living beings. The teaching widens Arjuna’s vision from one war to the source of all life.
What it looks like today
During a wedding, an elder recites the family's gotra and lineage back several generations. Krishna traces every such line further still, to the sages and Manus born from his own mind.
“The world is not separate from the divine source that sustains it.”
Explore related themes: vibhuti (43 verses)