A declaration · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“The unborn can still appear without ceasing to be free.”
Though unborn and imperishable, and though I am the lord of all beings, I manifest myself by controlling my own nature through my own power of appearance.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyunborn · even though · being · of imperishable nature · of beings · lord · even though · being · nature · own · having taken control of · I manifest · by my own power of appearance
Krishna says he is unborn and imperishable, yet still appears in the world by using his own power over nature.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (Knowledge and Renunciation of Action).
Verse 6 sits in Chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "Knowledge and Renunciation of Action". The chapter has 42 verses in total.
Hearing the Krishna stories from her grandmother at Janmashtami, a child asks how God can be a baby. The grandmother can answer from this verse: the unborn one chooses to appear, by his own power.
Did you like this verse?
Unborn and imperishable, Krishna still appears, taking form through his own power over nature.
What this verse means
Krishna says he is unborn and imperishable, yet still appears in the world by using his own power over nature.
Context & commentary
Arjuna asked how Krishna could have taught the sun at the beginning of time. Krishna answers that ordinary birth does not bind him at all. With Arjuna confused about time, divinity, and incarnation, Krishna reveals that his appearance is a deliberate manifestation.
What it looks like today
Hearing the Krishna stories from her grandmother at Janmashtami, a child asks how God can be a baby. The grandmother can answer from this verse: the unborn one chooses to appear, by his own power.
“What seems like a birth is really a chosen appearance, not a limitation.”
Explore related themes: prakriti (31 verses)