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Chapter 7 of 18

ज्ञान विज्ञान योग

The Yoga of Wisdom and Realisation

Among thousands, scarcely one strives for perfection — and among those who succeed, scarcely one knows me truly.

30 verses

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 — Summary

With Chapter 7 the Gita enters its middle movement, six chapters largely concerned with the nature of God and devotion. Krishna announces that he will now impart both jnana (knowledge) and vijnana (realisation) — the theory and its direct experience — after which nothing further will remain to be known.

He begins by dividing his own nature in two. The lower nature is eightfold: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and ego. The higher nature is the life-principle by which the universe is sustained. All beings originate in these two, and Krishna is both the origin and the dissolution of the whole world. Everything is strung on him like pearls on a thread — an image of pervasion that stops short of pantheism, since the thread is not the pearls.

The chapter then turns to why, given this omnipresence, so few actually perceive it. The answer is maya — the divine power composed of the three gunas, which is hard to overcome; only those who take refuge in Krishna cross beyond it. He is candid about the numbers: among thousands of people, scarcely one strives for perfection, and among those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows him in truth. He is equally candid about motives, and generously so. Four kinds of people come to him — the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the wise — and he calls all four noble, while naming the last as dearest, because that one is united with him and wants nothing else.

Key Themes

The two natures

Krishna's lower nature is the material world in its eight components, from the elements up through mind, intellect, and ego; his higher nature is the consciousness that sustains it all. The distinction sets up the field/knower analysis that Chapter 13 will develop in full.

Nothing beyond him

There is nothing whatever higher than Krishna, he says; all this is strung on him as pearls on a thread. He is the taste in water, the light in the sun and moon, the sound in ether, the fragrance in earth — divinity encountered not as a distant object but as the essential quality of ordinary things.

Maya, and how it is crossed

The divine illusion made of the three gunas is described as difficult to overcome — deceptive precisely because it is his own power. The chapter offers exactly one exit: taking refuge in him. This is the Gita's first strong statement that devotion, not effort alone, is what pierces the veil.

Four kinds of devotees

The distressed, the curious, the ambitious, and the wise all approach him, and Krishna calls all of them virtuous — including the one who comes wanting material things. The Gita does not demand a pure motive as the price of entry; it simply says the wise devotee, who wants nothing but him, is the dearest.

Key Verses of Chapter 7

BG 7.3

मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये | यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ||७-३||

Among thousands, scarcely one strives for perfection; among those, scarcely one knows me in truth.

BG 7.7

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय | मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ||७-७||

There is nothing higher than me; all this is strung on me like pearls on a thread.

BG 7.8

रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः | प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ||७-८||

I am the taste in water, the light in the sun and moon, the sound in ether — divinity as the essence of ordinary things.

BG 7.14

दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया | मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ||७-१४||

This divine maya of mine, made of the gunas, is hard to cross — but those who take refuge in me cross beyond it.

BG 7.16

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन | आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ||७-१६||

Four kinds of virtuous people worship me: the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the wise.

Where Chapter 7 Sits in the Gita

Chapters 2–6 concentrated on the self, action, and discipline. Chapter 7 pivots to the divine nature itself, opening the Gita's devotional middle section. The questions it raises about Brahman, karma, and what happens at death are exactly the ones Arjuna puts to Krishna at the start of Chapter 8.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the two natures of Krishna described in Chapter 7?

The lower (apara) nature is material and eightfold: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and ego. The higher (para) nature is the living consciousness that upholds the universe. All beings arise from the union of these two, and Krishna declares himself the origin and the dissolution of the entire world.

What does Chapter 7 say about maya?

Maya is described as Krishna's own divine power, constituted of the three gunas, and very difficult to overcome — which is precisely why so few see reality as it is despite the divine being everywhere. The chapter names one way past it: taking refuge in Krishna.

Who are the four types of devotees in the Bhagavad Gita?

In verse 7.16 Krishna names the distressed (arta), the seeker of knowledge (jijnasu), the seeker of wealth (artharthi), and the wise (jnani). He calls all four noble — notably including those who come to him for material help — while saying the jnani, who seeks nothing but him, is dearest to him.

How many verses are in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7?

Chapter 7 has 30 verses.

7.1

श्रीभगवानुवाच |

The Blessed Lord said O Arjuna, hear how you shall without doubt know Me fully, with the …

7.2

ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः |

I shall declare to thee in full this knowledge combined with realisation, after knowing wh…

7.3

मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये |

Among thousands of men, one perchance strives for perfection; even among those successful …

7.4

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च |

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and egoism thus is My Nature divided eigh…

7.5

अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् |

This is the inferior Prakriti, O mighty-armed (Arjuna); know thou as different from it My …

7.6

एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय |

Know that these two (Natures) are the womb of all beings. So I am the source and dissoluti…

7.7

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय |

There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Arjuna. All this is strung on Me, as cluster…

7.8

रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः |

I am the sapidity in water, O Arjuna; I am the light in the moon and the sun; I am the syl…

7.9

पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ |

I am the sweet fragrance in the earth and the brilliance in the fire, the life in all bein…

7.10

बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् |

Know Me, O Arjuna, as the eternal seed of all beings; I am the intelligence of the intelli…

7.11

बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् |

Of the strong, I am the strength devoid of desire and attachment, and in (all) beings, I a…

7.12

ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये |

Whatever beings (and objects) that are pure, active and inert, know that they proceed from…

7.13

त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् |

Deluded by these Natures (states or things) composed of the three alities of Nature all th…

7.14

दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया |

Verily, this divine illusion of Mine, made up of the (three) alities (of Nature) is diffic…

7.15

न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः |

The evil-doers and the deluded who are the lowest of men do not seek Me; they whose knowle…

7.16

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन |

Four kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna, and they are the distressed, the seekr of…

7.17

तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते |

Of them the wise, ever steadfast and devoted to the One, excels (is the best); for I am ex…

7.18

उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम् |

Noble indeed are all these; but I deem the wise man as My very Self; for, steadfast in min…

7.19

बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते |

At the end of many births the wise man comes to Me, realising that all this is Vaasudeva (…

7.20

कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः |

Those whose wisdom has been rent away by this or that desire, go to other gods, following …

7.21

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति |

Whatsoever form any devotee desires to worship with faith that (same) faith of his I make…

7.22

स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते |

Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that (form) and from it he obtains h…

7.23

अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् |

Verily the reward (fruit) that accrues to those men of small intelligence is finite. The w…

7.24

अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिमापन्नं मन्यन्ते मामबुद्धयः |

The foolish think of Me, the Unmanifest, as having manifestation, knowing not My higher, i…

7.25

नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः |

I am not manifest to all (as I am) veiled by the Yoga-Maya. This deluded world does not kn…

7.26

वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन |

I know, O Arjuna, the beings of the past, the present and the future, but no one knows Me.

7.27

इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत |

By the delusion of the pairs of opposites arising from desire and aversion, O Bharata, all…

7.28

येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम् |

But those men of virtuous deeds whose sins have come to an end, and who are freed from the…

7.29

जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये |

Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realise in fu…

7.30

साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदुः |

Those who know Me with the Adhibhuta (pertaining to the elements), Adhidaiva (pertaining t…

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