BG 4.6 — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 4.6Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

अजो ऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरो ऽपि सन् ।

प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय संभवाम्यात्ममायया ॥

ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san

prakṛtiṃ svām adhiṣṭhāya saṃbhavāmy ātma-māyayā

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Though birthless and imperishable, the lord of all beings, I take on my own nature by my own power and come into being.

ekras · bhāṣya

Krishna names the structure of the avatara. "Though aja — birthless — though avyaya-atma — of imperishable nature — though Ishvara of beings — adhishthaya prakritim svam, holding my own prakriti, I come into being by atma-maya." Three concessive clauses run in series. Birthless yet appearing as born; imperishable yet appearing in a perishable form; the Lord of all yet apparently subject to the conditions of one. The verse explains how the three coexist with the appearing. The pivot is svam prakritim adhishthaya — holding my own nature. Not entering another's prakriti the way an ordinary jiva enters one through karma, but using one's own.

Madhusudana sharpens the distinction: neither jiva-hood (which would limit omniscience to a vyashti-upadhi) nor ordinary Ishvara-hood (which would make embodiment inexplicable through gross or subtle bhautika material) describes the avatara. The third category is its own. Atma-maya — maya as the Lord's own free power.

Vallabha catches the polysemy: in one register maya is samarthya, the Lord's omnipotence; in the devotional register it is karuna, compassion expressed as visibility. Both are present.

Ramanuja insists that the appearing does not abandon any of the divine qualities; the avatara is not a thinning-out of Krishna's nature into a narrower form. The same nitya-mukta-svarupa stands inside the appearing body. The metaphysical ground is laid. The next two verses give the trigger and the purpose.

Context

where

Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 4.5

Many births of mine and yours have gone by, Arjuna; I know them all, but you do not, O scorcher of foes.

What's going on

Though birthless and imperishable, the lord of all beings, I take on my own nature by my own power and come into being.

Sūtras through this verse · hub (51)

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

1.1The first epithet: supremely compassionate.───→here4.6───→4.7When right wanes, I take a body.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.───→here4.6───→4.42Cut the heart's doubt with the sword of knowledge.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

2.18'Imperishable' is said to mark off the Lord.───→here4.6───→4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.

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MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordstation · anchor

───→here4.6───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it werestation · anchor

───→here4.6───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurestation · anchor

───→here4.6───→

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesstation

───→here4.6───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

2.18Image perishes, source endures───→here4.6───→4.13Creates yet uncreated

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

2.18The image perishes, but the source endures.───→here4.6───→4.13He creates and yet is uncreated by it.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

2.72The verse closes with the Akṣapāda rejection.───→here4.6───→4.8Ṛgveda khilas explain the descent as play.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

2.55'Self' here means mind — a single word redirects.───→here4.6───→4.11'Me' is glossed by what the speaker is doing.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here4.6───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here4.6───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayapproach

───→here4.6───→4.11However they come, I meet them so.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugeapproach

───→here4.6───→4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here4.6───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here4.6───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.───→here4.6───→4.18See not-doing in doing, doing in not-doing.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

3.25The wise act as the unwise, but unattached.───→here4.6───→4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

3.4Brāhmaṇas seek the Self by Veda, then by rite.───→here4.6───→4.13The four orders are the Puruṣa's own body.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.───→here4.6───→4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

3.35Your own flawed work beats another's perfect.───→here4.6───→4.13The four orders are His own creation.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.───→here4.6───→4.23Action's flagship verse: it dissolves itself.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here4.6───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here4.6───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here4.6───→6.30See Me everywhere, I am never lost.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerstation

───→here4.6───→

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

3.20Janaka, lokasangraha───→here4.6───→4.18Action in inaction

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

2.22Worn-out garments───→here4.6───→4.16Even the wise are confused

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

3.27Karma pillar. The 'ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate' line is where Gaura───→here4.6───→4.7Cyclic time. 'Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharata.' Gaurav uses this l

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

3.30Surrender every act.───→here4.6───→4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.───→here4.6───→5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here4.6───→6.10Solitary seat

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here4.6───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologyapproach

───→here4.6───→4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)approach

───→here4.6───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyaapproach

───→here4.6───→4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlyapproach

───→here4.6───→4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractapproach

───→here4.6───→4.7When dharma weakens, the Lord descends to play.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here4.6───→6.47Six chapters of aphorism close at this verse.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here4.6───→

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here4.6───→

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.───→here4.6───→6.1Karma-yoga is outer; samādhi-yoga inner.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.───→here4.6───→4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitapproach

───→here4.6───→4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

3.3Vaidika action sorted by life-stage rule.───→here4.6───→4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

3.4No mokṣa from mere non-starting.───→here4.6───→4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

3.30Karma offered to the indweller becomes worship.───→here4.6───→4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionapproach

───→here4.6───→4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionapproach

───→here4.6───→4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here4.6───→4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.

Śabda · lemmas (12 unique · 15 occurrences)

मायया māyā — illusion, the cosmic illusory power · instrumental feminine singular noun
अधिष्ठाय adhiṣṭhā — to stand upon, preside over (adhi- + √sthā) · conv
अव्यय avyaya — imperishable (a- + vyaya 'perishable', from vi-√i 'go away') · compound · also at 2.17, 2.21, 4.1, 4.13, 7.13, 7.25 +11
स्वाम् sva — own, self · accusative feminine singular noun

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अपि api ×2 — also, even, although
सन् √as ×2 — to be (verbal root) · nominative masculine singular present participle verb
आत्मा·आत्म ātman ×2 — the Self, soul; one's own self · nominative masculine singular noun / compound
अजः aja — unborn (a- + ja, from √jan); the Unborn · nominative masculine singular noun
भूतानाम् bhūta — being, creature; element; past, gone · genitive neuter plural noun · also at 1.1, 2.69, 10.20, 10.22, 13.15
ईश्वरः īśvara — the Lord, controller, God · nominative masculine singular noun
प्रकृतिम् prakṛti — primordial nature (pra- + √kṛ 'do' — 'that from which all is made') · accusative feminine singular noun
संभवामि sam-√bhū — to arise, become (sam- + √bhū) · present indicative 1st person singular verb

Praśna · so what (7)

01If the Lord's prakṛti is śuddha-sattva and not the triguṇa-māyā that binds the jīva, what testable difference does this make to how a bhakta relates to the avatāra's body — is it to be worshipped, meditated upon, or seen through?
02Rāmānuja reads māyā as jñāna (omniscient will), Śaṅkara reads it as triguṇa-māyā that deceives the world, and Vallabha reads it as kṛpā (compassion) — do these three readings correspond to three different questions the verse is answering (epistemology, cosmology, soteriology)?

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03Madhva inserts 'svām' (not 'svatantrām') to signal that the Lord does not govern an independent prakṛti but appears within his own — what is at stake for Dvaita if the prakṛti were truly external and independent?
04All six schools agree the Lord's birth is in some sense not like the jīva's — but they disagree on whether the difference is ontological (different kind of body), epistemological (different knower), or volitional (different cause). Is this disagreement resolvable by the verse's grammar alone?
05Vallabha's tirobhāva/āvirbhāva contrast implies that the jīva's saṃsāra and the Lord's avatāra are structurally opposite movements of the same śakti — what does this imply for a practitioner trying to understand their own embodiment?
06If ātma-māyā means 'by his own māyā' (Śaṅkara) or 'by his own knowledge-will' (Rāmānuja/Madhva), does the choice of meaning change the ethical valence of the verse — does it encourage seeing through the world, or trusting the world as the Lord's deliberate self-presentation?
07Madhusūdana's ākāśa-śarīra reading draws on a Vedic cosmological frame unavailable to the other commentators — does importing that frame resolve the problem of the avatāra's body, or does it simply relocate the mystery?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you encounter a 'divine' figure — a teacher, a text, an institution — whose authority seems to exceed ordinary explanation, Śaṅkara's reading invites the question: is what I am seeing paramārthika or a loka-vat appearance? The verse trains the practitioner to hold apparent lordship and apparent birth simultaneously without collapsing into either naive realism (the guru is literally God) or naive dismissal (it's all illusion). The practice is viveka — discriminating between the superimposition (the teacher's embodied form) and the underlying reality — while still acting with full seriousness within the superimposition.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Rāmānuja's reading — that the Lord descends by his own ātma-saṃkalpa (sovereign resolve) without diminishment — is a direct template for the bhakta's understanding of grace (prasāda). Every act of sincere surrender (prapatti) is met not by a God who 'decides' to help but by one whose very nature is this helping-resolve. In daily life this means treating answered prayers not as exceptions but as expressions of an intrinsic divine quality — and treating unanswered prayers as the same resolve operating at a timescale the practitioner cannot yet perceive.

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Dvaita

Madhva's insistence that Viṣṇu is 'īśeṣu vara' — superior even to the lords — has a specific implication for devotional practice: no intermediate authority (guru lineage, institutional hierarchy, ritual incumbent) can substitute for direct dependence on Hari. When institutional structures demand loyalty that conflicts with śāstra, Dvaita's reading of this verse provides the theological ground for refusal: the Lord's sovereignty is irreducible, and any 'īśa' who claims equivalence has misread the hierarchy.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's polysemy of māyā — sāmarthya, kṛpā, śakti — implies that every encounter with beauty, abundance, or unexpected grace is simultaneously an exercise of divine omnipotence and an act of compassion. The Puṣṭi-mārga application is non-ascetic: the practitioner does not try to see through the world's appearances but to receive them as āvirbhāva, the Lord's self-disclosure. Feasting, music, and the beauty of the Braj landscape are not distractions from the divine presence but its preferred vehicles — the verse licenses this by making the Lord's own 'birth' into beauty his highest act.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's śuddha-sattva-ātmikā prakṛti reading has a practical consequence for image-worship (mūrti-pūjā): the deity's form is not a symbol or a representation but a genuine condensation of pure sattva. Treating the mūrti with this understanding — bathing, dressing, feeding it as though its substance is different in kind from ordinary matter — is not anthropomorphism but a technically accurate response to what the verse says about the Lord's embodiment-mechanism. The everyday application is the quality of attention brought to pūjā.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's synthesis — ākāśa-śarīra visible only through māyā — implies a two-register practice: at the jñāna register, the practitioner works to see that the Lord's apparent human qualities (birth, hunger, play, death) are loka-anugraha appearances, not ontological facts. At the bhakti register, the practitioner works in the opposite direction — treating every appearance of the Lord in scripture, icon, or teacher as viśuddha-sattva-mūrti, fully real and fully present. Madhusūdana's application is holding both registers simultaneously without resolving the tension — the unresolved co-presence is itself the sādhana.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 4, Verse 6: Krishna to Arjuna — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga