Chapter 4, Verse 1
श्रीभगवानुवाच | इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम् | विवस्वान्मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत् ||४-१||
śrībhagavānuvāca . imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavānahamavyayam . vivasvānmanave prāha manurikṣvākave.abravīt ||4-1||
Meaning
4.1 The Blessed Lord said I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvan; he told it to Manu; Manu proclaimed it to Ikshvaku.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna opens the fourth chapter by tracing the lineage of this teaching, calling the Yoga avyaya — imperishable, unchanging across the ages. The wisdom He has just imparted to Arjuna is not a new invention but an eternal truth, first given to Vivasvan the sun-god, passed to Manu the progenitor of humanity, and then to the royal sage Ikshvaku.
This paramparā — the chain of disciplic succession — establishes a vital principle: spiritual knowledge is preserved and transmitted through living teachers, not merely discovered alone. By naming kings and sages as its keepers, Krishna also signals that this Yoga is meant for those engaged in action and responsibility, not only renunciates. The truth that liberates is ancient, royal, and meant to be lived.
💡 Key Takeaway
The deepest truths are not invented in isolation; they are received from a living lineage and kept alive by being lived.
Related Verses
एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदुः | स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परन्तप ||४-२||
evaṃ paramparāprāptamimaṃ rājarṣayo viduḥ . sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa ||4-2||
4.2 This, handed down thus in regular succession, the royal sages knew. This Yoga, by long lapse of time, has been lost here, O Parantapa (burner of the foes).
एवं ज्ञात्वा कृतं कर्म पूर्वैरपि मुमुक्षुभिः | कुरु कर्मैव तस्मात्त्वं पूर्वैः पूर्वतरं कृतम् ||४-१५||
evaṃ jñātvā kṛtaṃ karma pūrvairapi mumukṣubhiḥ . kuru karmaiva tasmāttvaṃ pūrvaiḥ pūrvataraṃ kṛtam ||4-15||
4.15 Having known this, the ancient seekers after freedom also performed action; therefore do thou also perform action, as did the ancients in days of yore.
कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः | अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः ||४-१७||
karmaṇo hyapi boddhavyaṃ boddhavyaṃ ca vikarmaṇaḥ . akarmaṇaśca boddhavyaṃ gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ ||4-17||
4.17 For verily (the true nature) of action (enjoined by the scriptures) should be known, also (that) of forbidden (or unlawful) action, and of inaction; hard to understand is the nature (path) of action.