BG 4.9
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Devanagari
जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन ॥ ९ ॥
Verse text
janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
Synonyms
janma
—
birth
;
karma
—
work
;
ca
—
also
;
me
—
of Mine
;
divyam
—
transcendental
;
evam
—
like this
;
yaḥ
—
anyone who
;
vetti
—
knows
;
tattvataḥ
—
in reality
;
tyaktvā
—
leaving aside
;
deham
—
this body
;
punaḥ
—
again
;
janma
—
birth
;
na
—
never
;
eti
—
does attain
;
mām
—
unto Me
;
eti
—
does attain
;
saḥ
—
he
;
arjuna
—
O Arjuna.
Translation
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
9. He who understands in truth My spiritual birth and activities, attains Me on giving up his body, and does not take birth again.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
9. He who understands in truth My spiritual birth and activities, attains Me on giving up his body, and does not take birth again.
Purport
The Lord’s descent from His transcendental abode is already explained in the sixth verse. One who can understand the truth of the appearance of the Personality of Godhead is already liberated from material bondage, and therefore he returns to the kingdom of God immediately after quitting this present material body. Such liberation of the living entity from material bondage is not at all easy. The impersonalists and the yogīs attain liberation only after much trouble and many, many births. Even then, the liberation they achieve – merging into the impersonal brahma-jyotir of the Lord – is only partial, and there is the risk of returning to this material world. But the devotee, simply by understanding the transcendental nature of the body and activities of the Lord, attains the abode of the Lord after ending this body and does not run the risk of returning to this material world. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) it is stated that the Lord has many, many forms and incarnations: advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam. Although there are many transcendental forms of the Lord, they are still one and the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. One has to understand this fact with conviction, although it is incomprehensible to mundane scholars and empiric philosophers. As stated in the Vedas ( Puruṣa-bodhinī Upaniṣad ):
eko devo nitya-līlānurakto bhakta-vyāpī hṛdy antar-ātmā
“The one Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally engaged in many, many transcendental forms in relationships with His unalloyed devotees.” This Vedic version is confirmed in this verse of the Gītā personally by the Lord. He who accepts this truth on the strength of the authority of the Vedas and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who does not waste time in philosophical speculations attains the highest perfectional stage of liberation. Simply by accepting this truth on faith, one can, without a doubt, attain liberation. The Vedic version tat tvam asi is actually applied in this case. Anyone who understands Lord Kṛṣṇa to be the Supreme, or who says unto the Lord, “You are the same Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead,” is certainly liberated instantly, and consequently his entrance into the transcendental association of the Lord is guaranteed. In other words, such a faithful devotee of the Lord attains perfection, and this is confirmed by the following Vedic assertion:
tam eva viditvāti mṛtyum eti nānyaḥ panthā vidyate ’yanāya
“One can attain the perfect stage of liberation from birth and death simply by knowing the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and there is no other way to achieve this perfection.” ( Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8) That there is no alternative means that anyone who does not understand Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is surely in the mode of ignorance and consequently he will not attain salvation simply, so to speak, by licking the outer surface of the bottle of honey, or by interpreting the Bhagavad-gītā according to mundane scholarship. Such empiric philosophers may assume very important roles in the material world, but they are not necessarily eligible for liberation. Such puffed-up mundane scholars have to wait for the causeless mercy of the devotee of the Lord. One should therefore cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness with faith and knowledge, and in this way attain perfection.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
You will be successful just by knowing in truth about My birth which was previously described, and after My birth, My activities. That is expressed in this verse.
Rāmānujācārya and Madhusūdana Sarasvatī say that divya means “non material, spiritual.” Śrīdhara Svāmī says divya means “uncommon.” As this means that it is not related to this material world, it also means “spiritual.” Being spiritual, beyond the guṇas, means that the Lord’s birth and activities are eternal. Jīva Gosvāmī also explains, quoting from Bhāgavatam in the Bhagavat Sandarbha that the Lord has no material birth or activities:
na vidyate yasya ca janma karma vā
na nāma-rūpe guṇa-doṣa eva vā
tathāpi lokāpyaya-sambhavāya yaḥ
sva-māyayā tāny anukālam ṛcchati
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material birth, activities, name, form, qualities or faults. To fulfill the purpose for which this material world is created and destroyed, He comes in the form of a human being like Lord Rāma or Lord Kṛṣṇa by His original internal potency. He has immense potency, and in various forms, all free from material contamination, He acts wonderfully. He is therefore the Supreme Brahman. I offer my respects to Him. SB 8.3.8
Or the word divya can mean “not approachable by logic,” or “inconceivable,” on the strength of the words of śruti and smṛti. The Puruṣa Bodhinī Śruti (4.3) of the Pippalādi branch of the Vedas says:
eko devo nitya-līlānurakto bhakta-vyāpī bhakta-hṛdayāntarātmā
The one Lord, who is inconceivable (deva), engaged in eternal pastimes, is spread in the devotees and resides in the devotee’s heart. [Note: The idea of this quotation is that something which pervades everywhere is inconceivable (deva or divya), according to the definition given to the word acintya in chapter 2.]
The eternal nature of the Lord’s birth and activities is mentioned frequently in the Bhāgavatam as well.
Yo vetti tattvataḥ means “he who knows that My birth and activities are truly eternal,” based on My statements that I am unborn and with indestructible body (ajo ’pi san avyayātmā) and that My birth and activities are non material (janma karma ca me divyam), and not just an appearance of being eternal, dependent on some sort of trick.
Yo vetti tattvataḥ can also mean “one who knows Me as the very form of Brahman.” This is because later Kṛṣṇa will say oṁ tat sad iti nirdeśo brahmaṇas trividhaḥ smṛtaḥ: the three words om tat sat all indicate Brahman. (BG 17.18) Therefore tattva means the state of being Brahman (tat). Yo vetti tattvataḥ means “one who know Me as the form of Brahman.”
That person does not take birth again, but rather, attains Me. The words tyaktvā deham only indicate the last condition of life, for, not only on giving up the body one does not take birth again, but even while not giving up the body, before that, one attains Me.
Rāmānujācārya says, “Destroying all sins which are unfavorable for surrender to Me by true knowledge of My spiritual birth and activities, taking shelter of Me in this life in the prescribed way, that person who holds Me alone as dear, constantly thinking of Me, attains Me.”
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
Let liberation, which is difficult to attain by numerous endeavors, using thousands of practices, become easily available for My exclusive devotees, through hearing about My birth and activities. I appear in this world for this purpose also. With this intention the Lord speaks this verse.
I am the Lord of all, whose every wish is fulfilled, born in many eternally perfect forms such as Nṛsiṁha and Rāma just like the vaidurya stone which manifests many colors. He who knows that the birth and activities (in relation to the respective devotees) of such a Lord are non-material and eternal in the past, present and future; he who, by My statements such as eko devo nitya-līlānurakto bhakta-vyāpī bhakta-hṛdy antarātmā has firm faith (yo vetti tattvataḥ) that My birth and activities are spiritual (divyam), and is indifferent to material logic, O Arjuna— this person, giving up his body, does not again take a material birth, but attains Me, possessing attractive activities relating to the devotee according to the form he worshipped. He attains liberation.
Tattvato vetti can also be explained as “He who knows that My birth and activites are actually not different from brahman (tat).” Tattvataḥ has this meaning because the śruti talks of brahman being tat in such statements as tat tvam asi: you are that brahman. This knoweldge, that Kṛṣṇa is brahman, brings about liberation. The following statement would be contradicted, if one did not gain liberation on knowing the Lord.
tam eva viditvātimṛtyum eti nānyaḥ panthā vidyate’yanāya
Knowing him one surpasses death. There is no other path for going. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8
The rest of the verse would be interpreted the same. The logical arguments in support of the eternal nature of the Lord’s birth, form and activities have been discussed elaborately elsewhere and should be consulted.
Surrender Unto Me
This is the result of knowing what was just said.
This verse not only explains one result (liberation) but next text explains another result.