Chapter 5, Verse 29
भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् | सुहृदं सर्वभूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिमृच्छति ||५-२९||
bhoktāraṃ yajñatapasāṃ sarvalokamaheśvaram . suhṛdaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ jñātvā māṃ śāntimṛcchati ||5-29||
Meaning
5.29 He who knows Me as the enjoyer of sacrifices and austerities, the great Lord of all the worlds and the friend of all beings, attains to peace.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna concludes the chapter with a revelation that crowns all the preceding teaching. He invites the seeker to know Him in three ways: as the true enjoyer (bhokta) of all sacrifices and austerities — the ultimate recipient of every offering; as Sarva-loka-maheshvara, the great Lord of all the worlds; and, most tenderly, as the suhrid, the loving friend of all beings.
That final image transforms the entire path. The Supreme is not a distant master demanding worship, but an intimate, well-wishing friend who seeks the good of every creature. To know God in this way — as the goal of all action, the sovereign of all, and the friend of one's own heart — is to release every anxiety. The fruit is shanti, peace. After chapters expounding action, renunciation, knowledge, and meditation, Krishna reveals that loving devotion to the Divine, known as our nearest friend, is the swift and sweet doorway to lasting peace.
💡 Key Takeaway
Know the Divine as the Lord of all and the loving friend of your own heart — that recognition is the doorway to lasting peace.
Related Verses
ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः | लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ||५-१०||
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ . lipyate na sa pāpena padmapatramivāmbhasā ||5-10||
5.10 He who does actions, offering them to Brahman, and abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus-leaf is not tainted by water.
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम् | अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते ||५-१२||
yuktaḥ karmaphalaṃ tyaktvā śāntimāpnoti naiṣṭhikīm . ayuktaḥ kāmakāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate ||5-12||
5.12 The united one (the well poised or the harmonised) having abandoned the fruit of action attains to the eternal peace: the non-united only (the unsteady or the unbalanced) impelled by desire, attached to the fruit, is bound.
तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः | गच्छन्त्यपुनरावृत्तिं ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः ||५-१७||
tadbuddhayastadātmānastanniṣṭhāstatparāyaṇāḥ . gacchantyapunarāvṛttiṃ jñānanirdhūtakalmaṣāḥ ||5-17||
5.17 Their intellect absorbed in That, their self being That, established in That, with That for their supreme goal, they go whence there is no return, their sins dispelled by knowledge.