Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 19: I Am Immortality and Death

In Bhagavad Gita 9.19, Krishna says he gives heat, withholds and sends forth rain, and is immortality and death, being and non-being.

Sanskrit Verse

Bhagavad Gita 9.19 · Chapter 9, Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga

श्रीभगवानुवाच · The Blessed Lord said

तपाम्यहमहं वर्षं
निगृह्णाम्युत्सृजामि च
अमृतं चैव मृत्युश्च
सदसच्चाहमर्जुन ॥ ९-१९ ॥

tapāmyahamahaṃ varṣaṃ
nigṛhṇāmyutsṛjāmi ca
amṛtaṃ caiva mṛtyuśca
sadasaccāhamarjuna

English transliteration tapaamyahamaham varsham
nigrihnaamyutsrijaami cha
amritam chaiva mrityushcha
sadasachchaahamarjuna ॥ 9.19 ॥

Translation / Meaning

I give heat; I hold back and send forth the rain. I am immortality and also death, being and non-being, O Arjuna.

In one line: The Divine is both immortality and death, being and non-being; all opposites rest in it.

Word Meanings

Word Meaning
तपामि tapāmi give heat
अहम् aham I
अहम् aham I
वर्षम् varṣam rain
निगृह्णामि nigṛhṇāmi hold back
उत्सृजामि utsṛjāmi send forth
च ca and
अमृतम् amṛtam immortality
च ca and
एव eva also
मृत्युः mṛtyuḥ death
च ca and
सत् sat being
असत् asat non-being
च ca and
अहम् aham I
अर्जुन arjuna O Arjuna

Word-wise Chanting

Metre: Anuṣṭubh (śloka) · 4 pādas of 8 syllables

  1. ta–pām–ya–ha–ma–haṃ var–ṣaṃ 8 syllables ta-paam-ya-ha-ma-ham var-sham
  2. ni–gṛh–ṇām–yut–sṛ–jā–mi ca | 8 syllables ni-grih-naam-yut-sri-jaa-mi cha
  3. a–mṛ–taṃ cai–va mṛt–yuś–ca 8 syllables a-mri-tam chai-va mrit-yush-cha
  4. sa–da–sac–cā–ha–mar–ju–na || 9-19 8 syllables sa-da-sach-chaa-ha-mar-ju-na
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 9 Verse 19

Context

Krishna concludes the litany of his manifestations (9.16–9.19).

Meaning

The Divine is the power behind the sun’s heat and the rains. It is both amṛta, immortality, and mṛtyu, death; both sat, the manifest, and asat, the unmanifest. Opposites that seem to conflict are both held within the Divine.

This verse challenges us to see the Divine not only in what we find pleasant but in all of life, including endings and loss. Everything is within the one reality.

In Practice

When you meet something you consider negative today, remember that it too arises within the Divine, and respond with calm.

Continue Your Study

This verse belongs to Chapter 9: Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga (The Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret). 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.