Chapter 9, Verse 11 (Bhagavad Gita 9.11)
Chapter 9: Rāja Vidyā Yog – Yoga through the King of Sciences
Sanskrit Shloka
अवजानन्ति मां मूढा मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम्। परं भावमजानन्तो मम भूतमहेश्वरम्
Transliteration
avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣhīṁ tanum āśhritam paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūta-maheśhvaram
Word Meanings
avajānanti—disregard; mām—me; mūḍhāḥ—dim-witted; mānuṣhīm—human; tanum—form; āśhritam—take on; param—divine; bhāvam—personality; ajānantaḥ—not knowing; mama—my; bhūta—all beings; mahā-īśhvaram—the Supreme Lord
Translation
Fools disregard Me, clad in human form, not knowing My higher nature as the Supreme Lord of all beings.
Meaning & Commentary
In this verse, Shri Krishna reveals the tragic limitation of the human intellect, which often judges the infinite through the lens of the finite. Because Shri Krishna descends into the material world in a human-like form, those lacking spiritual insight fail to perceive His transcendental majesty as the source of all existence. This lack of recognition keeps the soul bound to the cycles of illusion, unable to surrender to the Divine who is the very heart of their own being. By acknowledging Shri Krishna not merely as a historical figure but as the Supreme Brahman, a seeker pierces through the veil of maya. True liberation begins when the devotee recognizes that the One standing before them in human likeness is, in truth, the Eternal Master of the entire cosmos.