Krishna is the heart-seated source of knowledge.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टोमत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनञ्च |वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्योवेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम् ||१५-१५||
sarvasya cāhaṃ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtirjñānamapohanañca . vedaiśca sarvairahameva vedyo vedāntakṛdvedavideva cāham ||15-15||
Use this verse before study or decision-making.
Meaning
I am seated in the heart of all; from Me come memory, knowledge, and forgetfulness. I alone am to be known by all the Vedas; I am the author of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna is in every heart and is the ultimate object of all Vedic knowledge.
Word-by-word meaning
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Explanation
This is one of Chapter 15’s central verses. Krishna is not distant; He is seated in the heart. Memory, knowledge, discrimination, and even forgetting arise under His governance. All scripture ultimately points to Him.
Read the traditional commentary
This verse stands at the spiritual heart of the chapter. Krishna declares that He is seated in the hearts of all beings — sarvasya hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ — the inner witness present in every creature. From Him flow memory, knowledge, and even their loss; the very faculties by which we learn, recall, and forget are gifts of the Divine indwelling. Our entire mental life rests upon His presence within.
Krishna then makes a sweeping claim about scripture itself: He is the one ultimate goal of all the Vedas (vedyaḥ), the author of the Vedanta, and the true knower of the Vedas. All sacred study, finally, is pointing toward Him. This unites the chapter's themes: the same Lord who pervades sun, moon, earth, and digestion also dwells most intimately within our own hearts.
We need not search far — the Supreme being sought through all the scriptures is already seated within, closer to us than our own thoughts.
In daily life
Ask Krishna for memory, clarity, and right understanding.
A student before an exam can pray for clear memory and calm intelligence.
Try this today
Pray once for memory, knowledge, and wise forgetting.
Krishna guides my memory and understanding.Reflect
What knowledge or clarity should I ask Krishna for?
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Quick check
What does ‘वेदवित् एव च अहम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on knowledge, in other chapters
- Verse 13.18The light by which you know everything already shines in your own heart, waiting to be recognised.
- Verse 18.61The Divine dwells in every heart, intimately guiding the whole play of life from within.
- Verse 9.17The Divine is at once the loving parent of all life and the highest truth we seek to know — tenderness and transcendence united.
- Verse 17.23Every sacred act draws its true meaning from the Divine — invoking 'Om Tat Sat' consecrates work, study, and giving to the Absolute.
Swipe left for 15.16 · Know what changes and what does not change.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 15.15
Who says Bhagavad Gita 15.15, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 15.15, in Chapter 15, Purushottama Yoga (Purushottama Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 15.15 mean?
I am seated in the heart of all; from Me come memory, knowledge, and forgetfulness. I alone am to be known by all the Vedas; I am the author of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 15.15 for daily life?
Ask Krishna for memory, clarity, and right understanding. A student before an exam can pray for clear memory and calm intelligence.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 15.15 mean?
सर्वस्य हृदि सन्निविष्टः — seated in the hearts of all; मत्तः स्मृतिः — from Me comes memory; ज्ञानम् अपोहनम् च — knowledge and their loss; वेदैः सर्वैः — by all the Vedas; अहम् एव वेद्यः — I alone am to be known.
Where does verse 15.15 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 15 of 20 in Chapter 15, Purushottama Yoga. The next verse is 15.16.