श्रीभगवानुवाच ।बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन ।तान्यहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप ॥
śrībhagavān uvāca |bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna |tāny ahaṃ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṃ vettha parantapa ||
- श्रीभगवान् · śrībhagavān
- the Blessed Lord
- उवाच · uvāca
- said
- बहूनि · bahūni
- many
- मे · me
- my, of me
- व्यतीतानि · vyatītāni
- passed, gone by
- जन्मानि · janmāni
- births
- तव · tava
- your, of you
- च · ca
- and
- अर्जुन · arjuna
- O Arjuna
- तानि · tāni
- them
- अहम् · aham
- I
- वेद · veda
- know
- सर्वाणि · sarvāṇi
- all
- न · na
- not
- त्वम् · tvam
- you
- वेत्थ · vettha
- you know
- परन्तप · parantapa
- O scorcher of foes
“The Blessed Lord said: Many births of mine have passed, and yours too, O Arjuna. I know them all, but you do not know, O scorcher of foes.”
— Original plain-language translation
Both teacher and student have lived many lives — rebirth is common ground. The difference is memory: omniscience versus forgetfulness. Krishna's knowledge of all his appearances quietly asserts his divinity before explaining it.
— Reader's notes (original)