Devanagari
श्रीभगवानुवाच
परं भूय: प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् । ॥
यज्ज्ञात्वा मुनय: सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गता: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
paraṁ bhūyaḥ pravakṣyāmi
jṣānānāṁ jṣānam uttamam
yaj jṣātvā munayaḥ sarve
parāṁ siddhim ito gatāḥ
Synonyms
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said
;
param
—
transcendental
;
bhūyaḥ
—
again
;
pravakṣyāmi
—
I shall speak
;
jṣānānām
—
of all knowledge
;
jṣānam
—
knowledge
;
uttamam
—
the supreme
;
yat
—
which
;
jṣātvā
—
knowing
;
munayaḥ
—
the sages
;
sarve
—
all
;
parām
—
transcendental
;
siddhim
—
perfection
;
itaḥ
—
from this world
;
gatāḥ
—
attained.
Translation
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Again I shall declare to you this supreme wisdom, the best of all knowledge, knowing which all the sages have attained the supreme perfection.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
1. The Lord said: Again I will speak the highest knowledge among all types of knowledge. Knowing this, all the sages attained the highest perfection.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
1. The Lord said: Again I will speak more knowledge, which is the best among all types of knowledge; by knowing this, all the sages attained the highest perfection of understanding ātmā in this world.
Purport
From the Seventh Chapter to the end of the Twelfth Chapter, Śrī Kṛṣṇa in detail reveals the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now, the Lord Himself is further enlightening Arjuna. If one understands this chapter through the process of philosophical speculation, he will come to an understanding of devotional service. In the Thirteenth Chapter, it was clearly explained that by humbly developing knowledge one may possibly be freed from material entanglement. It has also been explained that it is due to association with the modes of nature that the living entity is entangled in this material world. Now, in this chapter, the Supreme Personality explains what those modes of nature are, how they act, how they bind and how they give liberation. The knowledge explained in this chapter is proclaimed by the Supreme Lord to be superior to the knowledge given so far in other chapters. By understanding this knowledge, various great sages attained perfection and transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord now explains the same knowledge in a better way. This knowledge is far, far superior to all other processes of knowledge thus far explained, and knowing this many attained perfection. Thus it is expected that one who understands this Fourteenth Chapter will attain perfection.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In the fourteenth chapter, the bondage caused by the guṇas and the symptoms are described. The many symptoms of the disappearance of the guṇas, and the cause of disappearance, bhakti, are also described.
In the previous chapter, it was described that the contact of the jīva with the body made of guṇas is the cause of his taking repeated births: kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu. What types of results come from contact with the guṇas? What are the symptoms of those associated with the guṇas? How is one liberated from the guṇas? In anticipation of these questions, the Lord promises to speak about the above topics while praising them. “Knowledge” here means teachings by which one gains knowledge.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
The fourteenth chapter explains that the guṇas are a cause of bondage, that they give three results, and that they are destroyed by devotion to Me.
Having examined and concluded the natures of jīvas and prakṛti which are mixed together, one should become liberated from the bondage of prakṛti by becoming endowed with certain qualities such as pridelesness (amānitvā). The cause of bondage is the association of gunās. This was explained in BG 13.21: kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu. What are those guṇas? How does the association with one of those guṇas take place? What is the result of association with the guṇa? What are the characteristics of a person associated with a guṇa? How does one become freed from the guṇas? With these questions in mind the Lord praises in two verses the topics He will be explaining, to induce a taste for ātmā.
Again I will speak more knowledge, which is different from the knowledge just spoken (param). This knowledge concerns the guṇas and is included in knowledge of prakṛti and the jīva. It is the best among all topics of knowledge concerning the jīva and prakṛti. It is similar to fresh butter extracted from yogurt. Realizing this (jṣātvā), all sages, those dedicated to contemplation (munayaḥ), attained the perfection of true understanding of the ātmā (param siddhim gataḥ) in this world (itaḥ).
Or another meaning is this. The process by which one gains knowledge that I previously spoke I will describe again in a different way. Among the processes of attaining knowledge, such as austerity, this is the most excellent (param uttamam) because it contains all the other practices. Knowing this, all the sages attained the supreme goal of liberation (param siddham) from this world (itaḥ).
Surrender Unto Me
Srila Prabhupada says in his Purport: "From the Seventh Chapter to the end of the Twelfth Chapter, Sri Krsna in detail reveals the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now, the Lord Himself is further enlightening Arjuna. If one understands this chapter through the process of philosophical speculation, he will come to an understanding of devotional service. In the Thirteenth Chapter, it was clearly explained that by humbly developing knowledge one may possibly be freed from material entanglement. It has also been explained that it is due to association with the modes of nature that the living entity is entangled in this material world. Now, in this chapter, the Supreme Personality explains what those modes of nature are, how they act, how they bind and how they give liberation. The knowledge explained in this chapt proclaimed by the Supreme Lord to be superior to the knowledge given so far in other chapters. By understanding this knowledge, various great sages attained perfection and transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord now explains the same knowledge in a better way. This knowledge is far, far superior to all other processes of knowledge thus far explained, and knowing this many attained perfection. Thus it is expected that one who understands this Fourteenth Chapter will attain perfection."
This should give us some impetus to enter into the mysteries of this Chapter and thus exit from the entanglement of the three modes of material nature.