Shloka

श्रीभगवानुवाच |
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन |
तान्यहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप ||४-५||

Transliteration

śrībhagavānuvāca .
bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna .
tānyahaṃ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṃ vettha parantapa ||4-5||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

4.5. The Bhagavat said O Arjuna, many births of Mine, as well as of yours have passed. All of them I do know, but you do not, O scorcher of foes !

Shri Purohit Swami

4.5 Lord Shri Krishna replied: I have been born again and again, from time to time; thou too,O Arjuna! My births are known to Me, but thou knowest not thine.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

4.5 See Comment under 4.9

Sri Ramanuja

4.5 The Lord said By this, the reality of the Lord’s birth is declared in the sentence, ‘Many births of Mine have passed.’ ‘So is it with you’ is added by way of illustration.

The mode of incarnation, the reality of His body and the cause of His birth are explained in the following verse.

Sri Shankaracharya

4.5 O Arjuna, bahuni, many; janmani, lives; me, of Mine; vyatitani, have passed; tava ca, and so have yours. Aham, I; veda know; tani, them; sarvani, all; (but) tvam, you; va vetta, know not, due to your power of understanding being obstructed by righteousness, unrighteousness, etc. However, parantapa, O scorcher of foes; aham, I know, possessing as I do unobstructed power of knowledge, because by nature I am enternal, pure, enlightened and free. ‘In that case, how, in spite of the absence of righteousness and unrighteousness, can there be any birth for You who are the eternal God?’ That is beng answered:

Swami Adidevananda

4.5 The Lord said Many births of Mine have passed, O Arjuna, and so is it with you also. I know them all, but you do not know them.

Swami Gambirananda

4.5 The Blessed Lord said O Arjuna, many lives of Mine have passed, and so have yours. I know them all, (but) you know not, O scorcher of enemies!

Swami Sivananda

4.5 The Blessed Lord said Many births of Mine have passed as well as of thine, O Arjuna; I know them all but thou knowest not, O Parantapa (scorcher of foes).

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

4.5 बहूनि may? मे My? व्यतीतानि have passed away? जन्मानि births? तव thy? च and? अर्जुन O Arjuna? तानि them? अहम् I? वेद know? सर्वाणि all? न not? त्वम् thou? वेत्थ knowest? परन्तप O Parantapa.Commentary You have no intuitional knowledge. The eye of wisdom has not been opened in you on account of your past actions. So your power of vision is limited and therefore you do not know your previous births. But I know them because I am omniscient.