In Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 3, Krishna declares that whoever knows Him as unborn, beginningless and the great Lord of the worlds is freed from delusion and from all sins.
Sanskrit Verse
श्रीभगवानुवाच · The Blessed Lord said
यो मामजमनादिं च
वेत्ति लोकमहेश्वरम्
असम्मूढः स मर्त्येषु
सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥ १०-३ ॥
yo māmajamanādiṃ ca
vetti lokamaheśvaram
asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu
sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate
English transliteration yo maamajamanaadim cha
vetti lokamaheshvaram
asammoodhah sa martyeshu
sarvapaapaih pramuchyate ॥ 10.3 ॥
Translation / Meaning
He who amongst the mortals, knows Me as unborn and beginningless, as the great Lord of the worlds, is undeluded and is liberated from all sins.
Word Meanings
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यः yaḥ | who |
| माम् mām | Me |
| अजम् ajam | unborn |
| अनादिम् anādim | beginningless |
| च ca | and |
| वेत्ति vetti | knows |
| लोकमहेश्वरम् lokamaheśvaram | great Lord of the worlds loka (worlds) + maheśvaram (great Lord) |
| असम्मूढः asammūḍhaḥ | undeluded |
| सः saḥ | he |
| मर्त्येषु martyeṣu | amongst mortals |
| सर्वपापैः sarvapāpaiḥ | from all sins sarva (all) + pāpaiḥ (sins) |
| प्रमुच्यते pramucyate | is liberated |
Word-wise Chanting
- yo mā–ma–ja–ma–nā–diṃ ca 8 syllables yo maa-ma-ja-ma-naa-dim cha
- vet–ti lo–ka–ma–heś–va–ram | 8 syllables vet-ti lo-ka-ma-hesh-va-ram
- a–sam–mū–ḍhaḥ sa mar–tye–ṣu 8 syllables a-sam-moo-dhah sa mar-tye-shu
- sar–va–pā–paiḥ pra–muc–ya–te || 10-3 8 syllables sar-va-paa-paih pra-much-ya-te
How to read this
How to chant: each line is one pāda (quarter-verse); chant it in one breath. The hyphen (-) divides the syllables, inside a word and across a sandhi join, so every pāda shows its 8 syllables (11 in triṣṭubh verses). A consonant cluster is divided after its first consonant (kar-ma, vet-ti): that syllable is held longer. Mark above a syllable: guru, long (two beats); laghu, short (one beat). | closes the half-verse, || the verse; the number is the syllable count of the pāda.
Deeper Explanation – Chapter 10 Verse 3
Context
Chapter 10 opens with Krishna promising to speak further for Arjuna’s good (10.1). He says that neither the gods nor the great sages know His origin, for He is the source of them all (10.2). This verse states what follows for one who knows Him as unborn and beginningless.
Meaning
This verse reveals that true liberation arises from deep spiritual understanding of the Supreme Divinity as unborn, without beginning, and the supreme Lord of all worlds. Such knowledge is not mere intellectual agreement or emotional sentiment, but a direct realization through intimate identification with the Self—the eternal, unchanging consciousness underlying all experience. While worldly phenomena are subject to birth and decay, the Self remains untouched, the silent witness and substratum of all fields of experience—whether physical, emotional, or intellectual.
Recognizing this, one sheds the fundamental delusion of separateness and limitation that gives rise to suffering and so-called sin, which in this context are not punishable offenses but self-imposed ignorance of one’s true nature. When a practitioner comes to see the Self as the ever-present ruler of all inner and outer worlds, all confusion falls away, and the binding effects of past misidentifications are dissolved. Thus, this verse emphasizes that the heart of spiritual practice lies in realizing the birthless, beginningless Self as the ultimate Lord, which alone brings complete freedom from all bondage.
In Practice
Sit quietly for a few minutes and notice the awareness in which every thought appears and disappears. Rest as that awareness, which was not born with any thought and does not end with it.
Related Verses
Continue Your Study
This verse belongs to Chapter 10: Vibhuti Yoga (The Divine Manifestations). Read the chapter overview, browse every verse of the Gita, or return to the chapter-by-chapter guide. For a reading plan, see how to study the Bhagavad Gita and the study resources.