FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 8.7

తస్మాత్సర్వేషు కాలేషు మామనుస్మర యుధ్య చ । మయ్యర్పితమనోబుద్ధిర్మామేవైష్యస్యసంశయ: ॥ ౭ ॥
tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu
[tasmaat sarveshu kaaleshu]
mām anusmara yudhya ca
[maam anusmara yudhya cha]
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir
[mayy arpita-mano-buddhir]
mām evaiṣyasy asaṁśayaḥ
[maam evaishyasy asamshayah]
tasmāt — therefore sarveṣu — at all kāleṣu — times mām — Me anusmara — go on remembering yudhya — fight ca — also mayi — unto Me arpita — surrendering manaḥ — mind buddhiḥ — intellect mām — unto Me eva — surely eṣyasi — you will attain asaṁśayaḥ — beyond a doubt .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu
tasmāt
therefore
sarveṣu
at all
kāleṣu
times
mām anusmara yudhya ca
mām
Me
anusmara
go on remembering
yudhya
fight
ca
also
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir
mayi
unto Me
arpita
surrendering
manaḥ
mind
buddhiḥ
intellect
mām evaiṣyasy asaṁśayaḥ
mām
unto Me
eva
surely
eṣyasi
you will attain
asaṁśayaḥ
beyond a doubt .
  • sarveṣu — at all
    Locative plural — 'in all'. With kāleṣu (times), it forbids the compartmentalization that would assign remembrance only to formal practice. Kṛṣṇa is asking for an unbroken thread, not a scheduled session.
  • anusmara — go on remembering
    Imperative with prefix anu — to remember 'along after', continuously, in flowing succession. The verb form makes remembrance a stream, not a snapshot. This is the technical Sanskrit verb for the continuous spiritual recollection that the chapter is built around.
  • yudhya — fight
    Imperative — fight. Kṛṣṇa places the duty-command grammatically parallel to anusmara. The two imperatives are equally weighted: the verse refuses to subordinate either remembrance to action or action to remembrance.
  • arpita — surrendering
    Past participle from arp — to place, deposit, offer. The mind and intellect are 'placed in' Kṛṣṇa, not merely directed toward Him. The image is one of deposit: arpita treats one's faculties as goods entrusted to a banker.
  • manaḥ — mind
    The faculty of emotional and sensory thought. To surrender manas without buddhi is sentimentality; to surrender buddhi without manas is dry analysis. The verse explicitly names both.
  • buddhiḥ — intellect
    The discriminating faculty. Kṛṣṇa requires the intellect's assent — devotion is not anti-intellectual. Buddhi-yoga is a key technical phrase in the Gītā; this verse points toward it by yoking buddhi explicitly to surrender.
  • asaṁśayaḥ — beyond a doubt
    Same root as saṁśayaḥ in 8.5. Kṛṣṇa repeats the assurance: no double possibility. The Gītā uses this word sparingly; its appearance twice in a few verses signals that the chapter's central promise is being underlined.
Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Kṛṣṇa and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.

This instruction to Arjuna is very important for all men engaged in material activities. The Lord does not say that one should give up his prescribed duties or engagements. One can continue them and at the same time think of Kṛṣṇa by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This will free one from material contamination and engage the mind and intelligence in Kṛṣṇa. By chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names, one will be transferred to the supreme planet, Kṛṣṇaloka, without a doubt.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
7. Therefore, at all times remembering Me, fight. Without doubt, one whose intelligence and mind are offered to Me attains Me.
Commentary

The mind creates the decision to think of Me. The intelligence creates the determination to remain fixed in thinking of Me.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
7. Therefore, at all times remembering Me, fight. Without doubt, with intelligence and mind are offered to Me, you will attain Me.
Commentary

Since previous thoughts are the cause of thoughts at death, you should remember Me at every moment and fight. To teach people, engage in your prescribed duties of fighting. Offering your mind and intelligence to Me, you will attain only Me and nothing else. Have no doubt about this.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Sometimes a question is raised among the devotees: "Is it necessary to remember Krsna while you are doing your duty or just doing your duty for Krsna is enough?" ‑ Here, Krsna responds clearly to this question (and also in 18.57). It is this practice mentioned in this verse that will allow one to remember Krsna at the time of death. The time of death it is the most difficult situation, much more than while doing one's duty.

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

“Always think of Me in the form of Krishna” and at the same time carry out your prescribed duties of

fighting

Thus Lord promises the goal – “surety of attaining Krishna” – without doubt

Focus of Learning

(a) Principle – Throughout life, Practice remembering Krishna by dedicating mental, intellectual and

physical activities to Lord’s service e.g.

Mental – Think of Me ‘in form of Krishna’ and ‘by chanting Hare Krishna’
Physical – Carry out prescribed duty of fighting dedicated to ‘Me’
Intellectual – Mind and intelligence fixed on ‘Me’
Result – ‘Freedom from all material contamination’ and ‘Surety of attaining Me’

(a) Text 8.6 establishes:

“Process of changing one’s nature” at the critical moment of death – Srila Prabhupada explains that the best process is chanting Hare Krishna
Also establishes that the transcendental absorption in Krishna’s service assures next body to be spiritual and not material

(b) How to make sure that one thinks of Krishna at death – Practice remembrance during one’s life;

not just at death

(c) Refutes – “Thinking anything will give the same result” (Preaching Application)

(d) Example: Bharat Maharaja becoming a deer

(c) How to practice remembrance – to be effective at the time of death (8.5 – 8.6)

Live in the mode of goodness
Life dedicated in service to Krishna and thus always thinking of Krishna
Constant and incessant chanting of the Holy Name (best process) – Srila Prabhupada mentions the full Hare Krishna maha-mantra three times in Texts 8.5 and 8.6 to stress the important of this process
Tolerate all impediments like a tree
Ref. Lord Chaitanya’s Shikshastakam Verse 3: “taror iva...”

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 8.7 & 8.8:

To remember Krishna is so important, that Krishna repeats the same point in the next verse

Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
8.7 Tasmat, therefore; anusmara, think of; mam, Me, in the way prescribed by the scriptures; sarvesu kalesu, at all times; and yudhya, fight, engage your-self in war, which is your own (caste) duty. Asamsayah, there is no doubt in this matter; that arpita-mano-buddhih, by dedicating your mind and intellect; mayi; to Me; esyasi, you-you who have thus dedicated our mind and intellect to Me, Vasudeva-will attain; mam eva, Me alone, as I shall be remembered. [When the Lord instructs Arjuna to think of Him, and at the same time engage in war, it may seem that He envisages a combination of Knowledge and action. But this is not so, because when one thinks of all actions, accessories and results that come within the purview of the mind and the intellect as Brahman, it is denied that actions etc. have any separate reality apart from Brahman. Therefore no combination is involved here.] Besides,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
8.7 Therefore, at all times, until your departure, remember Me, day after day. Engage yourself in actions appropriate to your station and stage in life, which would make you remember Me. These actions are prescribed by the Srutis and Smrtis and comprise the periodical and occasional rites. Thus, by this means, with your mind and intellect set on Me, you will remember Me at the time of death and thus attain to Me in the manner desired by you. There is no doubt about this. Thus, having laid down the common principle that the attainment of one's end is dependent on one's last thought, Sri Krsna proceeds to describe different modes of contemplation (Upasana) to be practised by the three groups of devotees for aciring their objectives. Of these, he first speaks about the modes of contemplation to be adopted by the seekers of enjoyments and power and the type of the last thought consistent with their contemplation.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
8.5-7 Antakale etc., upto asamsayam. At the time of departure also : i.e., not only as longs as [one is] in the healthy and unmolested condition. Me alone : Me, with all attributes undistinguished. But at the time of unhealthy state (at the time of death) of a person, how cloud the Bhagavat enter the path of his memory, when all the activities of the senses of that person have totally ended ? Hence [to achieve this result the Lord] teaches also the means or device by 'Therefore' etc.: The Bhagavat surely, on His own accord, becomes [even at the time of death] the object of memory of that person from whose heart (mind) the Bhagavat has never gone away in any cirucumstance connected with the mundane life also; who has [thus] renounced all his actions to the Bhagavat alone; and who is full of (fully absorbed in) the Bhagavat. For this end, the means is to remain constantly absorbed in the thought of the Bhagavat. That is why He Says : 'With whatever object the internal organ of a person is filled up always, that object alone is remembered by him at the time of death, and the state of that being alone is attained [by him]. Hence, let a person, by all means, have Me alone as his goal and be desirous of attaining Me'. This is the idea here. The idea [intended here] is certainly not 'What is remembered, without fail, at the last moment that being alone is attained by him'. Because in that case the attainment of the man of wisdom would also be just like that of an ignorant man. For, the former too [at the time of death] gets [complete] dulness of mind that is benumbed by the disorder (or defect) of he elements existing in his entire body. Certainly it is not proper to accept this here. For, it would go agains the authority of the scriptures. For, the fact is- 'He who has attained liberation simultaneously with realisation [of the Self], and whose sorrows [therefore] have been destroyed - he attains completely unity [with the Absolute] even though [at the time of death] he has lost his memory and abandons his body in a sacred place or in the house of a dog-cooker (i.e., man of a low tribe)'. (PS, 83). Therefore the matter-of-fact statement (or explanation) and injunction [that are meant here] are the following : If a person's internal organ is absorbed incessantly in the thought of a particular being, the same being is attained by him at end after departure. It is immaterial whether [at the time of departure] that being is remembered or not. This secondary importance [of the remembrance] is indicated by the word api 'also'. The word va 'or' makes it clear that the rememberance does not exist in each and every case. The Sage (Vyasa) himself clarifies his idea 'Let a man always remain by all means keeping Me (the Absolute Lord) as his supreme goal'. Since the Sage says : 'Therefore at all times keep Me (the Absolute) in your mind'. Therefore, the following is the combination of words [of the verse intended here] : If a person, remembering always, or at the last moment - the use of or denotes 'or not remembering [at the last moment]' - a particular being, leaves his body, he attains that particular being alone. For, he is always absorbed in the thought of that being. But others [interpret the verses as follows] : When one leaves his body as the end, just at the moment of leaving the body i.e., at that moment which is not cognizable to the perceivers like relatives, sons etc. [standing nearby]; at that moment that comes last after the limb-movements, like [heavy] breathing, exertion, hiccup, convulsive utterance etc., [have endred]; at that fraction of time when the bondage of pleasure, pain and bewilderment is weakened as a result of the weakening of the control of the bodily strength; at that time that goes by the term dehatyajana 'the moment of casting the body off'; at that moment whatsoever being a person remembers, his nature becomes entriely identical with that being, favoured (taken as an object) by the First Consiousness. the cause for remembering [the Lord] at that moment is to remanin ever absorbed in the thought of Him. The word tyajati [of verse 6] is to be construed as the seventh case [meaning 'at the time of abandoning']. Hence, the purport [of the passage] is only what has been said above. What is the use of such a remembrance of Him at the last moment ? But, who told that [there] is a use [for it] ? But, the remembrance is certainly brought about as a natural course at the last moment. But this [proposition] would lead to an undersirable conseence. For, it has been observed that a person [usually] remberances at the last moment either the maintenance of his children, wife and relatives, or drinking of cold water and so on. So, he would become identical with those things. It is not so. The moment, you speak of, is not the last moment. For, at that moment the existence of body is being clearly felt. Really that last moment, which we would like to speak of, can't be perceived by persons like you. In what form alone the remembrance should be there at the last moment is decided by [its cause], a potential mental impression certainly arising at that time - even though it is far off - according to the general principle : 'The remembrance and the potential mental impression [that causes it] being identical in form, there should be a seential immediacy [between them], even though they are removed [from one another] by many births, by long distance and by long passage of time'. (YS, IV, 9). Thus, depending on the potential mental impression, there arises remembrance of a particular being, and becuase of its remembrance one attains the identity of that being. However in the case of certain body the same [process] is accidentally indicated even at the stage of healthy body-condition. See for example, the remembrance of a deer etc., [both in the healthy conditions and in the dying moment] and the conseential attainment of the deerhood, as described in the Puranic literature. That is why api ca 'and also' is employed in [the statement] like 'and also at the time of journey.' Therefore, those who constantly think of the Bhagavat with intention 'Let us become this Being'; they attain [in the following order] the identity with Absolute Lord, of the exclusive nature of Consciousness : [First] there arises the thought (smarana) of the Lord at the moment when the bodily existence is felt; then at that unperceivable last moment the potential mental impression, born of the said thought, gives rise to the remembrance of the Lord by striking down all the other potential mental impressions, according to the principle : 'The potential mental impression, born therefrom , make all other potential mental impressions powerless (YS., I, 50). Then only at the moment of the fall of the body, because at that time the mental impression created by [the sense of] time has come to an end and because the differences of the objects like 'this', 'that' etc., are not felt-at that moment he attains identity with the Lord. This much of discussion is enough. Without doubt (verse 7) : one should not entertain any doubt in this regard.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
8.7 Therefore at all times remember Me only and fight. With mind and intellect fixed (or absorbed) in Me, thou shalt doubtessly come to Me alone.
Commentary

8.7 तस्मात् therefore? सर्वेषु in all? कालेषु (in) times? माम् Me? अनुस्मर remember? युध्य fight? च and? मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिः with mind and intellect fixed (or absorbed) in Me? माम् to Me? एव alone? एष्यसि (thou) shalt come to? असंशयम् doubtless.Commentary The whole mental machinery should be dedicated to the Lord. You must work with the mind and intellect devoted to Him.Fight Perform your own Dharma? the duty of a Kshatriya. It will purify your heart and you will attain to knowledge and come to Me. The term fight is Upalakshana (suggestive). It means Do your duties according to your caste and order of life. VarnashramaDharmas (the duties pertaining to the various castes and orders of life) and NityaNaimittika Karmas are the Upalakshanas (factors suggested or alluded to).The ChittaVritti which is of the form of the object meditated upon is the Bhavana. (ChittaVrittis is mental modification). The Bhavana is for those who practise Saguna Upasana. Bhavana at the time of separtion of the body is not necessary for a sage or a Jnani who has attained to the knowledge of the Self or Selfrealisation. (Cf.IX.34XII.8?11)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
8.7 Therefore, think of Me at all times and fight. There is no doubt that by dedicating your mind and intellect to Me, you will attain Me alone.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
8.7 Therefore meditate always on Me, and fight; if thy mind and thy reason be fixed on Me, to Me shalt thou surely come.
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
Stories
abhimanyu_chakravyuha_middle
Therefore, at all times, remember Me and fight — surrendering mind and intelligence to Me, you will attain Me without doubt.
Practical Applications
  • Make remembrance constant, not intermittent.
  • Continue discharging duty (fight) while remembering.
  • Surrender both mind and intelligence — not just feelings.
Reflection Questions
  • What in my mental life resists surrender?
  • What in my intelligence resists surrender?

Kṛṣṇa hands Arjuna two ropes and says hold both — one rope is remembrance, the other is the bow. Drop neither. The seeker who only holds the rope of remembrance lets the duty fall; the warrior who only grips the bow forgets whose battle it is. Yoga is the strength to keep both ropes in the same fist.

Arjuna himself, after Kurukṣetra

When Kṛṣṇa departed from the world, Arjuna was overcome with grief and found that even his familiar Gāṇḍīva bow felt heavy in his hands. He had relied so long on Kṛṣṇa's external presence that the inner remembrance had grown thin.

The Bhāgavatam records his recovery — he turned to Vyāsa, recited the Gītā back to himself, and was restored. The pattern of 8.7 — anusmara and yudhya, remember and fight, together — was what he had to relearn when the proof of it stood no longer beside his chariot.

Hanumān

Crossing the ocean, burning Laṅkā, fighting Rāvaṇa's hosts — Hanumān's hands were always full of work, and his heart was always full of Rāma. Asked once what time of day he remembered Rāma, he is said to have replied that he could not remember a time when he was not remembering Him.

The two-handed yoga of 8.7 — fight, and remember; both, at all times — is what Hanumān demonstrates without strain. His example is why the verse can hold the two halves together at all; he proves it is not contradiction.

📝 My note

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