📿 Shloka Collection

Kim Tad Brahma

Gita 8.1 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8 — Akshara Brahma Yoga
अर्जुन उवाच — किं तद्ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम ।
अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ॥
Arjuna uvacha — Kim tad brahma kim adhyatmam kim karma purushottama,
Adhibhutam cha kim proktam adhidaivam kim uchyate.
किम्
what
तत्
that
ब्रह्म
Brahman (the supreme reality)
अध्यात्मम्
adhyatma (the nature of the self)
कर्म
karma
पुरुषोत्तम
O Purushottama (Krishna)
अधिभूतम्
the principle governing the material world
प्रोक्तम्
is said to be
अधिदैवम्
the divine principle
उच्यते
is called

Arjuna opens this chapter with a burst of questions. He asks Krishna: What is Brahman? What is adhyatma? What is karma? What is adhibhuta, and what is adhidaiva? Like a curious grandchild sitting at the feet of a wise elder, Arjuna is eager to understand every term Krishna used at the end of the previous chapter.

His curiosity is completely natural. Krishna had spoken of Brahman, the self, and karma in Chapter 7, and Arjuna wants each of these words explained clearly. He does not pretend to understand. He asks openly and humbly.

There is a quiet lesson in Arjuna's honesty here. When something is not clear, asking a trusted guide is always the right thing to do. That willingness to learn is what makes Arjuna such a worthy student.

This is the opening shloka of Chapter 8, Akshara Brahma Yoga (The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman). At the end of Chapter 7, Krishna mentioned Brahman, adhyatma, and karma, prompting Arjuna's seven questions here. The next shloka (8.2) carries forward the remaining questions, and Krishna begins answering from 8.3 onward.

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