FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 7.26

वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन । भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन ॥ २६ ॥
vedāhaṁ samatītāni
[vedaaham samateetaani]
vartamānāni cārjuna
[vartamaanaani chaarjuna]
bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni
[bhavishyaani cha bhootaani]
māṁ tu veda na kaścana
[maam tu veda na kashchana]
Word-for-word
veda — know aham — I samatītāni — completely past vartamānāni — present ca — and arjuna — O Arjuna bhaviṣyāṇi — future ca — also bhūtāni — all living entities mām — Me tu — but veda — knows na — not kaścana — anyone .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vedāhaṁ samatītāni
veda
know
aham
I
samatītāni
completely past
vartamānāni cārjuna
vartamānāni
present
ca
and
arjuna
O Arjuna
bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni
bhaviṣyāṇi
future
ca
also
bhūtāni
all living entities
māṁ tu veda na kaścana
mām
Me
tu
but
veda
knows
na
not
kaścana
anyone .
Important Words
  • samatītāni — completely past
    Compound: sam (entirely) + atīta (past, gone-by). Not just yesterday's events — all that has ever passed. The full backward extension of time, known to Him.
  • vartamānāni — present
    Present participle of √vṛt (to be, to occur). What is now turning. Kṛṣṇa knows the unfolding moment of every being — your present is on His present-tense roster.
  • bhaviṣyāṇi — future
    Future participle of √bhū. What will be. The three tenses listed together (samatītāni, vartamānāni, bhaviṣyāṇi) constitute the verse's first claim: complete temporal knowledge.
  • bhūtāni — all living entities
    Plural of bhūta. He knows all beings, not just events. Knowledge of persons, not only of times. The Supersoul function described elsewhere in the Gītā.
  • kaścana — anyone
    Indefinite pronoun: 'anyone.' With na (not) in the verse: 'no one knows Me.' The asymmetry is total — He knows all; no one knows Him. The kaścana is unqualified. The chapter has already explained why: only the rare mahātmā of 7.19 begins to.
O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Kṛṣṇa's omniscience and humanity's nescience are stated in stark parallel: He knows every being across all three times — yet no one fully knows Him. The asymmetry reinforces yoga-māyā's covering effect and the rarity of true knowledge (7.3, 7.19).
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
The triadic temporal sweep (samatīta, vartamāna, bhaviṣya) ascribes to Kṛṣṇa the tri-kāla-jñā quality of Īśvara. 'Mām tu veda na kaścana' is a kind of structural lament: even those who know much do not know Him. The remedy will be reasserted in 7.28–30 — sustained devotion and refuge. Cf. Śvetāśvatara 6.18 on the Lord as the knower of all but known by none.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे अर्जुन! अहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि च भविष्याणि च भूतानि वेद; मां तु न कश्चन वेद ।
he arjuna! ahaṃ samatītāni vartamānāni ca bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni veda; māṃ tu na kaścana veda |
O Arjuna, I know all beings past, present, and yet to come — but no one knows Me.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
वेद अहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि च अर्जुन । भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन ॥
veda ahaṃ samatītāni vartamānāni ca arjuna | bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni māṃ tu veda na kaścana ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
वेद veda √विद् perf. (perfect) 1sg.par. (present sense) I know
अहम् aham अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular) I
समतीतानि samatītāni सम् + अति+√इ p.p.p. (past passive participle) acc.pl. (accusative plural)n. past / departed
वर्तमानानि vartamānāni √वृत् pres. (present) mid. participle acc.pl. (accusative plural)n. existing now
च ca ind. (conj.) and
अर्जुन arjuna अर्जुन (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) O Arjuna
भविष्याणि bhaviṣyāṇi √भू fut. (future) participle acc.pl. (accusative plural)n. future
भूतानि bhūtāni भूत (n.) acc.pl. (accusative plural) beings
माम् mām अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular) Me
तु tu ind. (contrast.) but
न na ind. (neg.) not
कश्चन kaścana किम् + चन indef. pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. anyone
Purport

Here the question of personality and impersonality is clearly stated. If Kṛṣṇa, the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were māyā, material, as the impersonalists consider Him to be, then like the living entity He would change His body and forget everything about His past life. Anyone with a material body cannot remember his past life, nor can he foretell his future life, nor can he predict the outcome of his present life; therefore he cannot know what is happening in past, present and future. Unless one is liberated from material contamination, he cannot know past, present and future. Unlike the ordinary human being, Lord Kṛṣṇa clearly says that He completely knows what happened in the past, what is happening in the present, and what will happen in the future. In the Fourth Chapter we have seen that Lord Kṛṣṇa remembers instructing Vivasvān, the sun-god, millions of years ago. Kṛṣṇa knows every living entity because He is situated in every living being’s heart as the Supersoul. But despite His presence in every living entity as Supersoul and His presence as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the less intelligent, even if able to realize the impersonal Brahman, cannot realize Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Person. Certainly the transcendental body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is not perishable. He is just like the sun, and māyā is like a cloud. In the material world we can see that there is the sun and that there are clouds and different stars and planets. The clouds may cover all these in the sky temporarily, but this covering is only apparent to our limited vision. The sun, moon and stars are not actually covered. Similarly, māyā cannot cover the Supreme Lord. By His internal potency He is not manifest to the less intelligent class of men. As it is stated in the third verse of this chapter, out of millions and millions of men, some try to become perfect in this human form of life, and out of thousands and thousands of such perfected men, hardly one can understand what Lord Kṛṣṇa is. Even if one is perfected by realization of impersonal Brahman or localized Paramātmā, he cannot possibly understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, without being in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
26. I know all things in the past and present, Arjuna. I know everything in the future as well, but no one knows Me.
Commentary

But My own knowledge is not covered by external māyā or the internal yoga-māyā, since I cannot be bewildered by that to which I give shelter. I know everything. But no one, whether material or spiritual, not even Śiva or the most omniscient person, knows Me completely, since knowledge of Me is covered by either māyā or yoga-māyā according to the qualification of the person.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
26. I know all things in the past, present, and future, Arjuna, but no one knows Me.
Commentary

“If you are covered by māyā, then like a jīva, you will also have the fault of ignorance.” “I am not at all corrupted by māyā who is subservient to Me, who arises from My powers, and who serves Me from a distance by acting as a screen. Therefore I continue to know everything. No one knows Me, since even among millions of the jñānī, one who knows Me is very rare.”

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

The living entities may be covered but Krsna is never covered nor is His knowledge. How is it, after describing that the living entities are bewildered and covered, that they become bewildered. What is the bewildering factor? (Krsna explains next how a jnani is very rare because he is not bound by the dualities of happiness and distress, respect, disrespect, male and female ‑ these arise from 'desire 'hate'.)

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa poses a question: “If a living entity can be covered by māyā and fall

into ignorance, can this also happen to Kṛṣṇa?” “No!” he answers. Māyā is inferior to Kṛṣṇa and is

controlled by Kṛṣṇa’s prowess. She carries out His orders from afar and cannot affect Him.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains Kṛṣṇa’s words: “Māyā has no power to bewilder her

own shelter. Therefore neither the external māyā nor the internal Yogamāyā can ever cover My

awareness. And no one knows Me completely—no materialistic or transcendental person, such as

Mahārudra, or anyone else—even the most omniscient person. That is because either māyā or

Yogamāyā, as is appropriate in each individual case, is always covering everyone’s awareness.”

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
7.26 O Arjuna, aham, I, however; veda, know; samatitani, the past beings; and vartamanani, the present. I know ca, also; bhavisyani, the future; bhutani, beings. Tu, but; na kascana, no one; veda, knows; mam, Me. Except the one person who is My devotee and has taken refuge in Me, no one adores Me, jus because he does not know My reality. 'What, again,is the obstruction to knowing Your reality, being prevented by which the creatures that are born do not know You?' In anticipation of such a estion, the Lord says this:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
7.26 I know all being that have passed away, those that live now and those that will hereafter. But no one knows Me. Among the beings existing in the three-fold divisions of time whom I look after, no one understands Me as of the nature described and as Vasudeva incarnated to be a refuge for all. So no one resorts to Me. Therefore, the one who knows Me really (Jnanin) is extremely difficult to be found. Such is the meaning. So also:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
7.25-26 Naham etc. Vadaham etc. I am not perceivable to all. But the actions themselves, if performed, would beget emancipation at the time of dissolution [of the world]. otherwise, how does the total dissolution come to be there ? When this doubt arises, [the Bhagavat] commences [to answer] as :
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
7.26 I know, O Arjuna, the beings of the past, the present and the future, but no one knows Me.
Commentary

7.26 वेद know? अहम् I? समतीतानि the past? वर्तमानानि the present? च and? अर्जुन O Arjuna? भविष्याणि the future? च and? भूतानि beings? माम् Me? तु verily? वेद knows? न not? कश्चन any one.Commentary Persons who are deluded by the three alities of Nature do not know the Lord. As they lack in the knowledge of His real nature? they do not adore Hi. But the Lord knows through His omniscience the beings of the past? the present and the future. He who worships the Lord with singleminded devotion knows Him in essence. He has knowledge of His real nature.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
7.26 O Arjuna, I know the past and the present as also the future beings; but no one knows Me!
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
7.26 I know, O Arjuna, all beings in the past, the present and the future; but they do not know Me.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 10.15 BG 15.15 BG 9.10 SB 1.5.13 SB 6.16.24 SB 10.9.13 CC Ādi 1.3 CC Madhya 21.1 CC Ādi 2.78 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.9
Concepts
Maya
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Sciences essays referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
I know everything that has happened, is happening, will happen — and I know all beings; but no one knows Me fully.
Practical Applications
  • Trust His complete knowledge of you.
  • Stop pretending you can fully know Him; humility is the right posture.
  • Live before His seeing as a settled truth.
Reflection Questions
  • What part of my life have I forgotten He sees?
  • What does living before His seeing change?
Analogy

A librarian who has read every book in the library, including the patrons' own borrowed ones, knows what each reader has touched, is reading, and will pick up next. The patrons know only their own shelf, and even that imperfectly. Kṛṣṇa as the librarian of being — past, present, future, every being — and no patron knows Him in return.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 7