Bhagavad Gita 18.21: meaning and translation
Chapter 18: Moksha Sannyasa Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that the knowledge which sees in all beings many separate natures, each different from the others, is knowledge of the nature of rajas.
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Bhagavad Gita 18.21
पृथक्त्वेन तु यज्ज्ञानं नानाभावान्पृथग्विधान् ।वेत्ति सर्वेषु भूतेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि राजसम् ॥
Prithaktvena tu yajjnanam nanabhavanprithagvidhanVetti sarveshu bhuteshu tajjnanam viddhi rajasam
pṛthaktvena tu yajjñānaṃ nānābhāvānpṛthagvidhān |vetti sarveṣu bhūteṣu tajjñānaṃ viddhi rājasam ||
Our explanation Krishna says that the knowledge which sees in all beings many separate natures, each different from the others, is knowledge of the nature of rajas.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जो ज्ञान सब प्राणियों में अलग-अलग, भिन्न-भिन्न प्रकार के अनेक भाव देखता है, वह ज्ञान राजस है।
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- पृथक्त्वेन pṛthaktvena · as separate (noun (neuter), instrumental singular) Dictionary: pṛthak-tva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 645, col. 3 “singly, one by one”
- तु tu · but (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. tu, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 449, col. 3 “but”
- यत् yat · which (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- ज्ञानम् jñānam · knowledge (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: jñāna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 426, col. 1 “knowing, becoming acquainted with, knowledge”
- नानाभावान् nānābhāvān · many kinds of being (compound (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: 1. nānā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 535, col. 1 “differently, variously, distinctly, separately”; bhāva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 754, col. 1 “becoming, being”
- पृथग्विधान् pṛthagvidhān · of different kinds (compound (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: pṛthag-vidha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 646, col. 1 “of d° kinds, manifold, various”
- वेत्ति vetti · knows (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. vid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 963, col. 2 “to know, understand, perceive, learn, become or be acquainted with”
- सर्वेषु sarveṣu · in all (adjective (neuter), locative plural) Dictionary: sarva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1184, col. 3 “whole, entire, all, every”
- भूतेषु bhūteṣu · beings (noun (neuter), locative plural) Dictionary: bhūta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 761, col. 3 “that which is or exists, any living being (divine, human, animal, and even vegetable)”
- तत् tat · that (pronoun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- ज्ञानम् jñānam · knowledge (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: jñāna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 426, col. 1 “knowing, becoming acquainted with, knowledge”
- विद्धि viddhi · know (imperative, 2nd person singular) Dictionary: 1. vid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 963, col. 2 “to know, understand, perceive, learn, become or be acquainted with”
- राजसम् rājasam · of rajas (adjective (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: rājasa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 875, col. 2 “belonging or relating to the quality rajas”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 124.
Know that knowledge to be passionate, which is (based) on distinctions1 (between different entities), which sees in all things various entities of different kinds.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Cf. Kathopanishad, p. 129. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 124.
Know that knowledge to be passionate, which is (based) on distinctions1 (between different entities), which sees in all things various entities of different kinds.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Cf. Kathopanishad, p. 129. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 156.
But that knowledge which knoweth the several manifold natures in all beings as separate, that knowledge know thou as râjasic.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 328.
But that knowledge which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds as different from one another, know thou that knowledge as Râjasic.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 124. Bhagavad Gita 18.21.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 156. Bhagavad Gita 18.21.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 328. Bhagavad Gita 18.21.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 18.21: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/21/
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Bhagavad Gita 18.21
पृथक्त्वेन तु यज्ज्ञानं नानाभावान्पृथग्विधान् ।
वेत्ति सर्वेषु भूतेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि राजसम् ॥
“Know that knowledge to be passionate, which is (based) on distinctions (between different entities), which sees in all things various entities of different kinds.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 124, public domain)
“But that knowledge which knoweth the several manifold natures in all beings as separate, that knowledge know thou as râjasic.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 156, public domain)
“But that knowledge which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds as different from one another, know thou that knowledge as Râjasic.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 328, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/21/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 18.21?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 18 (Moksha Sannyasa Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026