Shloka 38

Devanagari script

जानाम्यध्यात्मयोगांश्ष॒ यो5हं यस्माच्च भारत,भारत! मैं अध्यात्मयोगोंको जानता हूँ तथा मैं कौन हूँ और कहाँसे आया हूँ--इस बातका भी मुझे ज्ञान है। लौकिक अभ्युदयका साधक प्रवृत्तिधर्म ओर नि:श्रेयस प्रदान करनेवाला निवृत्तिधर्म भी मुझसे अज्ञात नहीं है। एकमात्र मैं सनातन पुरुष ही सम्पूर्ण मनुष्योंका सुविख्यात आश्रयभूत नारायण हूँ

Transliteration

jānāmy adhyātma-yogāṁś ca yo ’haṁ yasmāc ca bhārata; pravṛtti-dharmo loka-abhyudaya-sādhako nivṛtti-dharmo niḥśreyasa-pradaś ca me nājñātaḥ. ekamātraḥ sanātanaḥ puruṣa eva sarva-manuṣyāṇāṁ suvikhyāta āśrayabhūto nārāyaṇo ’ham.

Translation

अहं अध्यात्मयोगान् जानामि, भारत; आत्मानं च जानामि—कोऽहम्, कुतो वा समागत इति। प्रवृत्तिधर्मो यः लौकिकाभ्युदयसाधकः, निवृत्तिधर्मश्च यः परमनि:श्रेयसप्रदः—उभौ मे नातिदूरौ। अहमेव सनातनः पुरुषः, सर्वनराणां सुविख्यात आश्रयभूतो नारायणः।

Word by Word

जानामिI know

अध्यात्मयोगान्the spiritual-yogas

यःwho

अहम्I

यस्मात्from which/whom

चand

भारतO Bharata

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Bhārata

Nārāyaṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts two complementary orientations of dharma: pravṛtti (engaged action that supports social and worldly welfare) and nivṛtti (renunciant turning inward that leads to niḥśreyasa, the highest good). It asserts that true spiritual authority comprehends both paths and culminates in recognizing the supreme refuge—Nārāyaṇa—as the eternal Person.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker proclaims comprehensive knowledge: of adhyātma-yoga, of personal identity and origin, and of both the worldly and liberative forms of dharma. The statement culminates in a theologically charged self-identification with Nārāyaṇa, presenting the supreme Lord as the universally acknowledged refuge.