Verse 18.64

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 18.64:

सर्व-गुह्यतमं भूयः शृणु मे परमं वचः ।
इष्टोऽसि मे दृढम् इति ततो वक्ष्यामि ते हितम् ॥ ६४ ॥

sarva-guhyatamaṃ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṃ vacaḥ |
iṣṭo'si me dṛḍham iti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam || 64 ||

sarva-guhyatamam–the most confidential of all instructions; bhūyaḥ–again; śṛṇu–hear; me–My; paramam–supreme; vacaḥ–instruction; iṣṭaḥ–very dear; asi–you are; me–to Me; dṛḍham–extremely; iti–knowing; tataḥ–therefore; vakṣyāmi–I shall speak; te–for your; hitam–welfare.

Again hear My supreme instruction, the most confidential of all knowledge. You are extremely dear to Me, and therefore, I am speaking this for your benefit.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

When Śrī Kṛṣṇa saw that His dear friend Arjuna had fallen silent while deliberating on the deep and grave meanings of this Gītā, His heart, which is as soft as butter, melted and He said, “O Arjuna, My dear friend, now, in these concluding eight verses, I will speak the very essence of all scriptures to you.” Arjuna may ask, “Why will You take further trouble to explain this?” Śrī Bhagavān thus responded with this verse beginning with sarva-guhyatamam. “In the verse beginning with man-manā bhava mad-bhakto, I will again impart to you the king of all knowledge (rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyam), the essence of the Ninth Chapter. This is indeed the supreme statement, for it is the essence of the Gītā, which is itself the essence of all scriptures. The word guhyatamam means that nothing more confidential than this can be found anywhere. It is absolute. I am reiterating this for your ultimate benefit, because you are My very dear friend (iṣṭo’si me dṛḍham iti). And why would I not? After all, a person will reveal his most confidential secrets only to his dear-most friend.”

Some versions of the Gītā use the phrase iṣṭo’si me dṛḍha-matiḥ instead of dṛḍham iti.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Śrī Gītā is called an Upaniṣad. It is the essence of the Vedas and the Upaniṣads. One can only understand its innermost intention by the mercy of Bhagavān or His devotees. These confidential instructions cannot possibly be understood merely on the strength of one’s intelligence or through the medium of karmīs, jñānīs or non-devotees who consider the form of Bhagavān to be illusory and devoid of potency. Only the exclusive, fully surrendered devotees of Kṛṣṇa can, by His grace, become aware of these most confidential instructions. This verse is spoken by Śrī Bhagavān for the explicit purpose of explaining this secret.

Arjuna is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s fully surrendered devotee and is very dear to Him. He is therefore qualified to hear this most confidential instruction. In the same way, only such pure devotees of Kṛṣṇa are capable of com-prehending this most secret instruction of the Gītā, not others.

The aikāntika-bhaktas are exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, knowing Him to be the Absolute Truth, composed of eternality, know ledge and bliss, and therefore, they actively engage in following His instructions and directions, being freed from any doubt or controversy.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura quotes Kṛṣṇa as saying, “I spoke brahma-jñāna, knowledge of My featureless aspect, to you. This knowledge is confidential (guhya). And I told you of īśvara-jñāna, knowledge of My localized aspect, which is more confidential (guhyatara). Now, I am instructing you on bhagavat-jñāna, knowledge of My personal aspect, which is most confidential (guhyatama). Please listen. This bhagavat-jñāna is superior to all the other teachings I have given in Bhagavad-gītā. I am imparting it to you for your welfare, because you are very dear to Me.”