🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 4.2

Chapter 4 · ज्ञानकर्मसंन्यासयोग · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · "The Yoga of Knowledge & Action-Renunciation" · Verse 2 of 42

एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदुः।

स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परन्तप।।4.2।।
— Bhagavad-Gītā 4.2 · Devanāgarī root text

🪷 English Translations

5 received English translations are available for this śloka. Each voice is labelled; no single rendering is presented as the Sanskrit itself.

Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 edition attribution in the received data
4.2 The Divine Kings knew it, for it was their tradition. Then, after a long time, at last it was forgotten.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
4.2 This, handed down thus in regular succession, the royal sages knew. This Yoga, by long lapse of time, has been lost here, O Parantapa (burner of the foes).
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
4.2 Rajarsayah, the king-sages, those who were kings and sages (at the same time); viduh, knew; imam, this Yoga; which was evam parampara-praptam, received thus through a regular succession of Ksatriyas. Sah, that; yogah, Yoga; nastah, is lost, has go its traditional line snapped; iha, now; mahata kalena, owing to a long lapse of time. parantapa, O destroyer of foes. By para are meant those against oneself. He who, like the sun, 'scorches' (tapayati) them by the 'rays' of the 'heat' of his prowess is parantapa, i.e. scorcher of antagonists. Noticing that the Yoga has got lost by reaching people who are weak and have no control of their organs, and that the world has become associated with goals that do not lead to Liberation,
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
4.1 - 4.2 The Lord said This Karma Yoga declared to you should not be considered as having been taught now merely, for creating encouragement in you for war. I Myself had taught this Yoga to Vivasvan at the commencement of Manu's age as a means for all beings to attain release, which is man's supreme end. Vivasvan taught it to Manu, and Manu to Iksvaku. The royal sages of old knew this Yoga transmitted by tradition. Because of long lapse of time and because of the dullness of the intellect of those who heard it, it has been almost lost.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
4.2. Thus the regal sages knew this, received in regualr succession. By the passage of long time, this Yoga has been however lost, O scorcher of enemies !

🪷 Hindi Translation · हिन्दी अनुवाद

Received Hindi rendering attributed in the source data to Swami Rāmsukhdās ji.

🪷 Swami Rāmsukhdās · Hindi rendering · source-data attribution
।।4.2।। हे परंतप ! इस तरह परम्परासे प्राप्त इस कर्मयोग को राजर्षियोंने जाना। परन्तु बहुत समय बीत जानेके कारण वह योग इस मनुष्यलोकमें लुप्तप्राय हो गया।

🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices

5 received English commentary layers are available for this śloka. Open only the voice you wish to study.

Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
4.2 एवम् thus? परम्पराप्राप्तम् handed down in regular succession? इमम् this? राजर्षयः the royal sages? विदुः knew? सः this? कालेन by lapse of time? इह here? महता by long? योगः Yoga? नष्टः destroyed? परन्तप O Parantapa.Commentary The royal sages Men who were kings and at the same time sages also? learnt this Yoga.Arjuna could burn or harass his foes? like the sun? by the heat of his valour and power. Hence the name Parantapa.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
4.2 Rajarsayah, the king-sages, those who were kings and sages (at the same time); viduh, knew; imam, this Yoga; which was evam parampara-praptam, received thus through a regular succession of Ksatriyas. Sah, that; yogah, Yoga; nastah, is lost, has go its traditional line snapped; iha, now; mahata kalena, owing to a long lapse of time. parantapa, O destroyer of foes. By para are meant those against oneself. He who, like the sun, 'scorches' (tapayati) them by the 'rays' of the 'heat' of his prowess is parantapa, i.e. scorcher of antagonists. Noticing that the Yoga has got lost by reaching people who are weak and have no control of their organs, and that the world has become associated with goals that do not lead to Liberation,
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
4.1 - 4.2 The Lord said This Karma Yoga declared to you should not be considered as having been taught now merely, for creating encouragement in you for war. I Myself had taught this Yoga to Vivasvan at the commencement of Manu's age as a means for all beings to attain release, which is man's supreme end. Vivasvan taught it to Manu, and Manu to Iksvaku. The royal sages of old knew this Yoga transmitted by tradition. Because of long lapse of time and because of the dullness of the intellect of those who heard it, it has been almost lost.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
4.2 See Comment under 4.3
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।4.2।। वेदों में प्रवृत्ति और निवृत्ति मार्गों का उपदेश है। इस योग का परम्परागत रूप से राजर्षियों को ज्ञान था परन्तु लगता है इस योग का भी अपना दुर्भाग्य और सौभाग्य है इतिहास के किसी काल में मानव मात्र की सेवा के लिये यह ज्ञान उपलब्ध होता है और किसी अन्य समय अनुपयोगी सा बनकर निरर्थक हो जाता है तब अध्यात्म का स्वर्ण युग समाप्त होकर भोगप्रधान आसुरी जीवन का अन्धा युग प्रारम्भ होता है किन्तु आसुरी भौतिकवाद से ग्रस्त काल में भी वह पीढ़ी अपने ही अवगुणों से पीड़ित होने के लिये उपेक्षित नहीं रखी जाती। क्योंकि उस समय कोई महान् गुरु अध्यात्म क्षितिज पर अवतीर्ण होकर तत्कालीन पीढ़ी को प्रेरणा साहस उत्स्ााह और आवश्यक नेतृत्व प्रदान करके दुख पूर्ण पगडंडी से बाहर सांस्कृतिक पुनरुत्थान के राजमार्ग पर ले आता है।महाभारत काल का उचित मूल्यांकन करते हुए श्रीकृष्ण भगवान् ठीक ही कहते हैं कि दीर्घकाल के अन्तराल से वह योग यहाँ नष्ट हो गया है।यह देखकर कि इन्द्रिय संयम से रहित दुर्बल व्यक्तियों के हाथों में जाकर यह योग नष्टप्राय हो गया जिसके बिना जीवन का परम् पुरुषार्थ प्राप्त नहीं किया जा सकता। भगवान् आगे कहते हैं

🪷 Hindi Vyākhyā · हिन्दी व्याख्या

Received Hindi vyākhyā attributed in the source data to Swami Rāmsukhdās ji.

🪷 Swami Rāmsukhdās · Hindi vyākhyā · source-data attribution
।।4.2।। व्याख्या--'एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदुः'--सूर्य, मनु, इक्ष्वाकु आदि राजाओंने कर्मयोगको भलीभाँति जानकर उसका स्वयं भी आचरण किया और प्रजासे भी वैसा आचरण कराया। इस प्रकार राजर्षियोंमें इस कर्मयोगकी परम्परा चली। यह राजाओं-(क्षत्रियों-) की खास (निजी) विद्या है, इसलिये प्रत्येक राजाको यह विद्या जाननी चाहिये। इसी प्रकार परिवार, समाज, गाँव आदिके जो मुख्य व्यक्ति हैं, उन्हें भी यह विद्या अवश्य जाननी चाहिये।प्राचीनकालमें कर्मयोगको जाननेवाले राजालोग राज्यके भोगोंमें आसक्त हुए बिना सुचारुरूपसे राज्यका संचालन करते थे। प्रजाके हितमें उनकी स्वाभाविक प्रवृत्ति रहती थी। सूर्यवंशी राजाओंके विषयमें महाकवि कालिदास लिखते हैं

🪷 Place in the Bhagavad-Gītā

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📚 Cite this verse · Academic citation formats
APA: Vyāsa Maharṣi. (n.d.). Bhagavad-Gītā 4.2. Vidhyāmitra. Retrieved 2026-08-14, from https://vidhyamitra.com/bhagavad-gita/4/2
Chicago: Vyāsa Maharṣi. "Bhagavad-Gītā 4.2." Vidhyāmitra. Accessed 2026-08-14. https://vidhyamitra.com/bhagavad-gita/4/2.
MLA: Vyāsa Maharṣi. "Bhagavad-Gītā 4.2." Vidhyāmitra, 2026, https://vidhyamitra.com/bhagavad-gita/4/2.
Canonical reading URL: https://vidhyamitra.com/bhagavad-gita/4/2. This citation identifies Vidhyamitra's received digital witness; consult a named scholarly or printed edition when edition-specific authority is required.

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This page is rendered from the pinned 701-address witness documented on the Gītā index. Publication and search-indexing authorization for every bundled translation and commentary layer was confirmed on 4 August 2026; the exact received recension boundary remains disclosed separately.

🪷 ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय 🪷

सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)