BG 8.1 (1972)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 1
- अर्जुन उवाच ।
- किं तद् ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम ।
- अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ॥१॥
- arjuna uvāca
- kiṁ tad brahma kim adhyātmaṁ
- kiṁ karma puruṣottama
- adhibhūtaṁ ca kiṁ proktam
- adhidaivaṁ kim ucyate
SYNONYMS
arjunaḥ uvāca—Arjuna said; kim—what; tat—that; brahma—Brahman; kim—what; adhyātmam—the self; kim—what; karma—fruitive activities; puruṣottama—O Supreme Person; adhibhūtam—the material manifestation; ca—and; kim—what; proktam—is called; adhidaivam—the demigods; kim—what; ucyate—is called.
TRANSLATION
Arjuna inquired: O my Lord, O Supreme Person, what is Brahman? What is the self? What are fruitive activities? What is this material manifestation? And what are the demigods? Please explain this to me.
PURPORT
In this chapter Lord Kṛṣṇa answers these different questions of Arjuna beginning with, "What is Brahman?" The Lord also explains karma, fruitive activities, devotional service and yoga principles, and devotional service in its pure form. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains that the Supreme Absolute Truth is known as Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. In addition, the living entity, individual soul, is also called Brahman. Arjuna also inquires about ātmā, which refers to body, soul and mind. According to the Vedic dictionary, ātmā refers to the mind, soul, body and senses also.
Arjuna has addressed the Supreme Lord as Puruṣottama, Supreme Person, which means that he was putting these questions not simply to a friend but to the Supreme Person, knowing Him to be the supreme authority able to give definitive answers.