A declaration · devotional in mood · easy to enter
“The deepest teaching is spoken as care, not command.”
Listen again to My most secret word. You are dear to Me, so I will speak for your good.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallymost secret · again · listen · my · highest · word · you are dear · to me · truly · thus · therefore · I will speak · to you · what is good
Krishna asks Arjuna to hear one more secret teaching. Because Arjuna is dear to him, Krishna will speak only what is truly beneficial.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Moksha Sanyasa Yoga" (Liberation through Renunciation).
Verse 64 sits in Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga, "Liberation through Renunciation". The chapter has 78 verses in total.
Before a nephew leaves home for a job abroad, his uncle takes him aside and says: hear this one thing again, because I care about you. Krishna speaks to Arjuna in that tone here.
Did you like this verse?
Calling Arjuna dear, Krishna asks him to hear once more his supreme secret, spoken for his good.
What this verse means
Krishna asks Arjuna to hear one more secret teaching. Because Arjuna is dear to him, Krishna will speak only what is truly beneficial.
Context & commentary
Arjuna has already been told the central teaching: surrender to Krishna. Krishna now pauses before the final command and says there is still a more secret word to hear. He speaks as a teacher who cares personally for Arjuna's welfare.
What it looks like today
Before a nephew leaves home for a job abroad, his uncle takes him aside and says: hear this one thing again, because I care about you. Krishna speaks to Arjuna in that tone here.
“Being loved means being told what helps, not just what comforts.”
Explore related themes: bhakti (69 verses), sharanagati (13 verses)