Bhagavad Gita 4.9: meaning and translation
Chapter 4: Jnana Karma Sannyasa Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that whoever truly understands his divine birth and actions is not born again after leaving the body, but comes to him.
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Bhagavad Gita 4.9
जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन ॥
Janma karma cha me divyamevam yo vetti tattvatahTyaktva deham punarjanma naiti mameti sorjuna
janma karma ca me divyamevaṃ yo vetti tattvataḥ |tyaktvā dehaṃ punarjanma naiti māmeti so’rjuna ||
Our explanation Krishna says that whoever truly understands his divine birth and actions is not born again after leaving the body, but comes to him.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जो उनके दिव्य जन्म और कर्म को ठीक-ठीक (तत्त्व से) जान लेता है, वह शरीर छोड़ने के बाद फिर जन्म नहीं लेता, बल्कि उन्हीं को प्राप्त होता है।
Word by word
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Word by word
- जन्म janma · birth (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: janman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 411, col. 3 “birth, production”
- कर्म karma · action, deeds (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: karman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 258, col. 2 “act, action, performance, business”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- मे me · "my" (Krishna's) (pronoun, genitive singular) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”
- दिव्यम् divyam · divine (adjective (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: 2. divya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 479, col. 2 “divine, heavenly, celestial”
- एवम् evam · thus (indeclinable) Dictionary: evam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “thus, in this way, in such a manner”
- यः yaḥ · who (pronoun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- वेत्ति vetti · knows (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. vid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 963, col. 2 “to know, understand, perceive, learn”
- तत्त्वतः tattvataḥ · truly, as it is (indeclinable) Dictionary: tattvatas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 433, col. 1
- त्यक्त्वा tyaktvā · having left (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: 1. tyaj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 456, col. 3 “to leave, abandon, quit”
- देहम् deham · the body (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: deha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 496, col. 3 “the body”
- पुनर्जन्म punarjanma · birth again (compound (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: punar, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 633, col. 2 “again, once more”; janman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 411, col. 3 “birth, production”
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “ind. not, no, nor, neither”
- एति eti · goes to (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 5. i, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 163, col. 3 “to arrive at, reach, obtain”
- माम् mām · "me" (Krishna) (pronoun, accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”
- एति eti · comes to (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 5. i, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 163, col. 3 “to arrive at, reach, obtain”
- सः saḥ · he (pronoun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- अर्जुन arjuna · O Arjuna (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: arjuna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 90, col. 1
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 59.
Whoever truly knows thus my divine birth and work, casts off (this) body and is not born again. He comes to me, O Arguna!
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 59.
Whoever truly knows thus my divine birth and work, casts off (this) body and is not born again. He comes to me, O Arguna!
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 50–51.
He who thus knoweth My divine birth and action, in its essence, is not born again, having abandoned the body, but he cometh unto Me, O Arjuna.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 88.
He, who thus knows, in true light, My divine birth and action, leaving the body, is not born again: he attains to Me, O Arjuna.
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. 59. Bhagavad Gita 4.9.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), pp. 50–51. Bhagavad Gita 4.9.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 88. Bhagavad Gita 4.9.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 4.9: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/4/9/
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Bhagavad Gita 4.9
जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन ॥
“Whoever truly knows thus my divine birth and work, casts off (this) body and is not born again. He comes to me, O Arguna!”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 59, public domain)
“He who thus knoweth My divine birth and action, in its essence, is not born again, having abandoned the body, but he cometh unto Me, O Arjuna.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), pp. 50–51, public domain)
“He, who thus knows, in true light, My divine birth and action, leaving the body, is not born again: he attains to Me, O Arjuna.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 88, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/4/9/ 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 4.9?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 4 (Jnana Karma 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 27, 2026