Chapter 7, Verse 29
जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये | ते ब्रह्म तद्विदुः कृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्म चाखिलम् ||७-२९||
jarāmaraṇamokṣāya māmāśritya yatanti ye . te brahma tadviduḥ kṛtsnamadhyātmaṃ karma cākhilam ||7-29||
Meaning
7.29 Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realise in full ï1thatï1 Brahman, the whole knowledge of the Self and all action.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna links the longing for liberation with the fullness of knowledge. Those who, taking refuge in Him, strive to be free from old age and death (jara-marana) come to know Brahman in its entirety — the whole science of the Self (adhyatma) and the whole nature of action (karma). The yearning to transcend mortality, when rooted in surrender, opens into complete understanding.
This verse begins to gather the chapter's threads and points ahead to the closing teaching. The fear of decay and death is, for many, the first spur to seek the Eternal; here that very fear is dignified as a doorway. When one takes refuge in the Divine and strives sincerely, the result is not a partial comfort but a total realisation embracing Self, world, and action alike. The honest confrontation with mortality, turned toward God, becomes the gate to deathless knowledge.
💡 Key Takeaway
The honest longing to transcend death, rooted in refuge in the Divine, opens into complete knowledge of Self and action.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः | असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ||७-१||
śrībhagavānuvāca . mayyāsaktamanāḥ pārtha yogaṃ yuñjanmadāśrayaḥ . asaṃśayaṃ samagraṃ māṃ yathā jñāsyasi tacchṛṇu ||7-1||
7.1 The Blessed Lord said O Arjuna, hear how you shall without doubt know Me fully, with the mind intent on Me, practising Yoga and taking refuge in Me.
ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः | यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते ||७-२||
jñānaṃ te.ahaṃ savijñānamidaṃ vakṣyāmyaśeṣataḥ . yajjñātvā neha bhūyo.anyajjñātavyamavaśiṣyate ||7-2||
7.2 I shall declare to thee in full this knowledge combined with realisation, after knowing which nothing more here remains to be known.
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया | मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ||७-१४||
daivī hyeṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā . māmeva ye prapadyante māyāmetāṃ taranti te ||7-14||
7.14 Verily, this divine illusion of Mine, made up of the (three) alities (of Nature) is difficult to cross over; those who take refuge in Me alone, cross over this illusion.