A declaration · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“The unborn can still appear without ceasing to be free.”
Though unborn and imperishable, and though I am the lord of all beings, I manifest myself by controlling my own nature through my own power of appearance.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyunborn · even though · being · of imperishable nature · of beings · lord · even though · being · nature · own · having taken control of · I manifest · by my own power of appearance
Krishna says he is unborn and imperishable, yet still appears in the world by using his own power over nature.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (Knowledge and Renunciation of Action).
Verse 6 sits in Chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "Knowledge and Renunciation of Action". The chapter has 42 verses in total.
Someone you trust suddenly acts in a way you never expected, and you wonder what is real. This verse says appearance can hide power: not everything that shows up is bound the way it seems.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts the mind from seeing Krishna as a historical figure to seeing incarnation as conscious manifestation.
What this verse means
Krishna says he is unborn and imperishable, yet still appears in the world by using his own power over nature.
Context & commentary
Arjuna has asked how Krishna could have taught the sun at the beginning of time. Krishna answers that he is not bound by ordinary birth at all. On this battlefield, with Arjuna confused about time, divinity, and incarnation, Krishna reveals that his appearance is a deliberate manifestation.
Why this verse still matters
Someone you trust suddenly acts in a way you never expected, and you wonder what is real. This verse says appearance can hide power: not everything that shows up is bound the way it seems.
“What seems like a birth is really a chosen appearance, not a limitation.”
Explore related themes: prakriti (31 verses)