Shloka 19

Devanagari script

बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते” ज्ञानवान्‌ः मां प्रपद्यते । वासुदेव: सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभ:,बहुत जन्मोंके अन्तके जन्ममें तत्त्वज्ञानको प्राप्त पुरुष, सब कुछ वासुदेव ही है--इस प्रकार मुझको भजता है;* वह महात्मा अत्यन्त दुर्लभ है

Transliteration

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate | vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ ||

Translation

Au terme de nombreuses naissances, l’homme pourvu de la vraie connaissance se remet à Moi, comprenant : « Vāsudeva est tout ». Une telle grande âme—dont la clairvoyance s’achève en refuge et en dévotion entière—est d’une rareté extrême.

Word by Word

बहूनाम्of many

जन्मनाम्of births

अन्तेat the end

ज्ञानवान्the wise / possessing knowledge

माम्me

प्रपद्यतेtakes refuge (in) / surrenders (to)

वासुदेवःVāsudeva

सर्वम्all (everything)

इतिthus

सःhe

महात्माgreat-souled person

सुदुर्लभःvery hard to find / extremely rare

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Me (the Lord speaking in the Gītā context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that mature spiritual knowledge culminates in surrender: after many lifetimes of growth, the truly wise recognize Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme) as all-pervading reality and take refuge in Him; such integrated wisdom-and-devotion is rare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within the Bhīṣma Parva battlefield dialogue (the Bhagavad Gītā), the Lord explains to Arjuna the culmination of spiritual pursuit: seekers progress over many births, and the highest realization expresses itself as wholehearted surrender to Vāsudeva as the all.