Chapter 10: Divine Manifestations · Verse 3

यो मामजमनादिं च वेत्ति लोकमहेश्वरम् |

असम्मूढः स मर्त्येषु सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥३॥

yo māmajamanādiṃ ca vetti lokmaheśvaram |

asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate ||3||

One who knows Me as unborn, without beginning, and the great Lord of all worlds — that person, undeluded among mortals, is freed from all sins.

liberation knowledge freedom from sin clarity divine nature

Synthesis

One who knows Krishna as unborn, beginningless, and the great Lord of all worlds is freed from all sins. Shankaracharya sees this as knowledge of the imperishable Self dissolving karmic bondage. Ramanujacharya emphasizes that this knowledge comes through the Lord's grace. Madhva reads 'maheshvara' as referring specifically to Vishnu's supreme sovereignty, with right knowledge as the root of liberation. Abhinavagupta interprets 'unborn and beginningless' as pointing to the eternal nature of Consciousness that the wise recognize as their own ground. Vallabha emphasizes simultaneous transcendence and accessibility — the Lord of all worlds is intimately present. Tilak highlights the practical consequence: knowledge transforms the quality of action from self-centered to God-oriented, dissolving karmic bondage. Vivekananda emphasizes the universality of this knowledge, which dispels the fundamental delusion of separateness. Together, these eight perspectives converge on the transformative power of right knowledge — not mere intellectual assent but the deep recognition of the divine as the unborn, eternal ground of all existence, which frees the knower from the binding consequences of ignorance.

Commentaries 8 traditions

Advaita Vedanta/Adi Shankaracharya

Shankara teaches that knowing Brahman as unborn and beginningless means recognizing one's own Self as that very Brahman. This jnana (knowledge) destroys all accumulated karma — not through action but through the direct recognition that the Self was never bound.

Apply This Verse

Personal Growth

True clarity about what is real and enduring — your deepest values, your authentic self — naturally dissolves the guilt and confusion that accumulate from living out of alignment.

Questions this verse answers

  • ?"How does understanding the truth set me free from guilt?"
  • ?"Can clarity alone dissolve my past mistakes?"
  • ?"What does it mean to be undeluded in a world full of confusion?"
  • ?"How do I let go of sins and regrets I keep carrying?"