अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन ।प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ॥
adhiyajñaḥ kathaṃ ko 'tra dehe 'smin madhusūdana | prayāṇakāle ca kathaṃ jñeyo 'si niyatātmabhiḥ ||
- अधियज्ञः · adhiyajñaḥ
- the presiding principle of sacrifice
- कथम् · katham
- how
- कः · kaḥ
- who
- अत्र · atra
- here
- देहे · dehe
- in the body
- अस्मिन् · asmin
- in this
- मधुसूदन · madhusūdana
- O Madhusudana (Krishna)
- प्रयाणकाले · prayāṇakāle
- at the time of departure, death
- ज्ञेयः · jñeyaḥ
- to be known
- नियतात्मभिः · niyatātmabhiḥ
- by those of disciplined mind
“Who is the lord of sacrifice here in this body, O Madhusudana, and how? And how are you to be known at the hour of death by those of steady mind?”
— Original plain-language translation
The final question is the most practical: how does one hold onto God when dying. Krishna will answer it at length in verses 5-13. The phrase about the disciplined self already hints that dying well depends on living steadily.
— Reader's notes (original)