Akshara Brahma Yoga · Verse 17

Bhagavad Gita 8.17

Cosmic time reveals how small ordinary urgency is.

Wisdom translation, edited by Ankur Shukla. Commentary AI-drafted, human-reviewed. Reviewed June 2026. Methodology →

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद्ब्रह्मणो विदुः ।
रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
जो मनुष्य ब्रह्माके एक हज़ार चतुर्युगीवाले एक दिनको और सहस्त्र चतुर्युगीपर्यन्त एक रातको जानते हैं, वे मनुष्य ब्रह्माके दिन और रातको जाननेवाले हैं ॥
English
Those who know that Brahma’s day lasts a thousand yugas, and his night lasts a thousand yugas, know day and night truly.

What this verse means

Some people understand the vast scale of Brahma's day and night. They can see time on a cosmic scale, not just as ordinary human hours.

Context & commentary

On Kurukshetra, with Arjuna shaken and the war still paused, Krishna turns from the soul’s freedom to the scale of cosmic time. He describes Brahma’s immense day and night to prepare Arjuna for a teaching about creation, dissolution, and what lies beyond them.

Why this verse still matters

You watch a deadline panic swallow the whole week, then remember the project is one cycle inside a much larger life. The pressure loosens when time stops feeling like a cage.

The takeaway

A wider view can calm the mind that feels trapped by immediate time.

Word-by-word translation

सहस्र-युग-पर्यन्तम् (lasting a thousand yugas) / अहः (day) / यत् (which) / ब्रह्मणः (of Brahma) / विदुः (they know) / रात्रिम् (night) / युग-सहस्र-अन्ताम् (ending in a thousand yugas) / ते (they) / अहः-रात्र-विदः (knowers of day and night) / जनाः (people)

Explore related themes: akshara brahma (12 verses)

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