Bhagavad-gītā 8.1
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
अर्जुन उवाच किं तद्ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम। अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते।।8.1।।
arjuna uvācha kiṁ tad brahma kim adhyātmaṁ kiṁ karma puruṣhottama adhibhūtaṁ cha kiṁ proktam adhidaivaṁ kim uchyate
What is that Brahman, what is Adhyâtma, what is Karma, O best of Purushas? What is called Adhibhuta, and what Adhidaiva?
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| arjunaḥ uvācha | Arjun said |
| kim | what |
| tat | that |
| brahma | Brahman |
| kim | what |
| adhyātmam | the individual soul |
| kim | what |
| karma | the principle of karma |
| puruṣha-uttama | Shree Krishna, the Supreme Divine Personality |
| adhibhūtam | the material manifestation |
| cha | and |
| kim | what |
| proktam | is called |
| adhidaivam | the Lord of the celestial gods |
| kim | what |
| uchyate | is called |
Read the Sanskrit as a connected thought built from arjunaḥ uvācha (Arjun said), puruṣha-uttama (Shree Krishna, the Supreme Divine Personality), and uchyate (is called). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to remembrance that shapes one's destination. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 8.1.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Track Arjuna’s questions and Kṛṣṇa’s answers about Brahman, action, remembrance, destination and cosmic time.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
What is that Brahman, what is Adhyâtma, what is Karma, O best of Purushas? What is called Adhibhuta
- 2
what Adhidaiva?
- 3
arjunaḥ uvācha: Arjun said
Look, link, cover, teach
Look
Picture remembrance and destination.
Link
Use the line starts: arjuna uvācha / kiṁ tad / adhibhūtaṁ cha.
Cover
Hide the verse and rebuild one line at a time.
Teach
Explain the flow to another person without looking.
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 8.1, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 8.1 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 8.1 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 8.1 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 8.1, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
Use an authorized edition