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Chapter 8 · Attaining the Supreme · 28 verses

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Questions & crisisChapter 8 · Attaining the Supreme
8.18.3

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 8.2

Arjuna asks about spiritual realities and death

अधियज्ञ: कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन ।

प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभि: ॥ २ ॥

adhiyajñaḥ kathaṁ ko ’tra

dehe ’smin madhusūdana

prayāṇa-kāle ca kathaṁ

jñeyo ’si niyatātmabhiḥ

Translation

Who is the Lord of sacrifice, and how does He live in the body, O Madhusūdana? And how can those engaged in devotional service know You at the time of death?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Remembering Kṛṣṇa at Death

  1. 1Arjuna asks who the Lord of sacrifice is, how He lives in the body, and how devotees can know Him at death.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that life’s activities are tested at death, when bodily distress may make remembering Kṛṣṇa difficult.
  3. 3Practice remembering Kṛṣṇa while your mind is undisturbed and your body is healthy.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 8, Attaining the Supreme: arjuna asks about spiritual realities and death.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Honest questions open the way to wisdom.

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 8.2 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?

Practice

Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.

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The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 8 ›
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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 8.1Arjuna asks about spiritual realities and deathBG 1.28Compassion entangled with attachmentBG 1.46The bow falls

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Ask about BG 8.2 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.