Bhagavad Gita — Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga, Shloka 17

Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga

Devanagari script

पिताहमस्य जगतो माता धाता पितामहः । वेद्यं पवित्रमोंकार ऋक्साम यजुरेव च ॥ ९.१७ ॥

Transliteration

pitāham asya jagato mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ | vedyaṃ pavitram oṃkāra ṛk-sāma yajur eva ca || 9.17 ||

Translation

เราคือบิดาแห่งโลกนี้ คือมารดา คือผู้ทรงค้ำจุน และคือปิตามหะ เราคือสิ่งที่พึงรู้ คือผู้ชำระให้บริสุทธิ์ คือพยางค์โอม และเราคือฤค สาม และยชุรด้วย

Gita Press Meaning

I am the father of this world, the mother, the sustainer, and the grandsire; I am the knowable, the purifier, the syllable Oṃ, and also Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajus.

Critical Edition Meaning

I am the father of this world, the mother, the arranger/sustainer (dhātṛ), the grandfather; (I am) what is to be known, the purifier, the syllable Oṃ, and also the Ṛg-, Sāma-, and Yajur- (Vedas).

Comparative Note

“धाता” may be translated as creator, supporter, or ordainer. The list links cosmic parenthood with the epistemic ‘knowable’ and with Vedic revelation (Oṃ and the three Vedas).

Word by Word

• पिता: father
• Root: पितृ

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Root: अस्मद्

• अस्य: of this
• Root: इदम्

• जगतः: of the world (moving universe)
• Root: जगत्

• माता: mother
• Root: मातृ

• धाता: supporter; sustainer; ordainer
• Root: धातृ

• पितामहः: grandfather; forefather
• Root: पितामह

• वेद्यम्: that which is to be known
• Root: वेद्य

• पवित्रम्: purifier; sacred (purity itself)
• Root: पवित्र

• ओंकारः: the syllable Om
• Root: ओंकार

• ऋक्: Ṛg(-veda) hymn; Ṛk
• Root: ऋच्

• साम: Sāma(-veda) chant; Sāman
• Root: सामन्

• यजुः: Yajur(-veda) formula; Yajus
• Root: यजुस्

• एव: indeed; also; even
• Root: एव

• च: and
• Root: च

Speakers

• Krishna
• Arjuna

Primary Concepts

• Cosmic causality
• Veda (śruti) authority
• Oṃkāra
• Vedyam (the knowable)

Key Themes

• Divine as source and support
• Sacred sound and revelation
• Knowledge as purification

FAQs

Psychological significance?

The parental metaphors can convey security and belonging, while ‘knowable/purifier’ emphasizes clarity through disciplined understanding.

Metaphysical meaning?

The divine is presented as both efficient and sustaining cause, and as the object of ultimate knowledge, integrating cosmology and epistemology.

Contextual relevance?

It continues the ‘I am’ catalog to show that the sacred is present in family metaphors, in knowledge, and in Vedic liturgical foundations.

Modern Application?

One may interpret it as a call to connect learning and ethical purification: knowledge should transform character, not merely inform.