Chapter 4, Verse 2
एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदुः | स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परन्तप ||४-२||
evaṃ paramparāprāptamimaṃ rājarṣayo viduḥ . sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa ||4-2||
Meaning
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).
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna explains that this knowledge, once held by the rājarṣis — kings who were also sages — gradually faded as time passed. The phrase kālena mahatā, 'by long lapse of time,' acknowledges a sobering reality: even the highest truth can be obscured when the chain of sincere transmission weakens and practitioners grow scarce.
This is why Krishna now speaks it afresh to Arjuna. Spiritual wisdom is not lost because it is false, but because human attention drifts, interpretations distort, and living realization gives way to mere ritual. Each generation must rediscover and re-receive the teaching for it to remain alive. The decay of dharma is not sudden but slow, which is precisely why its renewal is so urgent.
💡 Key Takeaway
Even the highest wisdom fades when it stops being practiced and transmitted with sincerity; truth must be renewed in every age.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम् | विवस्वान्मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत् ||४-१||
śrībhagavānuvāca . imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavānahamavyayam . vivasvānmanave prāha manurikṣvākave.abravīt ||4-1||
4.1 The Blessed Lord said I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvan; he told it to Manu; Manu proclaimed it to Ikshvaku.
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् | धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ||४-८||
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām . dharmasaṃsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge ||4-8||
4.8 For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age.
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.