Did You Know That One Shloka Which Carries The Essence Of The Bhagavad Gita?

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The Bhagavad Gita, the sacred text of the Hindus has 18 chapters with 700 verses or Slokas. It is very auspicious to read it and has innumerable merits. The text covers Jnana, Bhakti, Karma and Raja Yoga.

The Bhagavad Gita is a beautiful text in the narrative form. However, reading it could be cumbersome owing to its voluminous nature.

Once Ramana Maharshi was talking at length regarding the merits of reading the Gita to a pundit. A devotee present there, who was listening to the conversation, remarked that it was difficult to keep in mind all the 700 shlokas or verses. He further queried Ramana Maharshi, if there was one shloka that carried the quintessence of the Gita. Ramana immediately noted down the shloka and gave it to the devotee, which now stands revealed to the entire humanity to be read and to be benefited by it.

One Shloka from the Bhagavad Gita which contains its quintessence

On the request of the devotee, Ramana Maharshi thus selected just one single shloka from the entire 700 shlokas.

"aham ātmā guḍākeśha sarva-bhūtāśhaya-sthitaḥ
aham ādiśh cha madhyaṁ cha bhūtānām anta eva cha" (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter X, Verse 20)

Word to word translation

Gudakesa - O the master of sleep, Arjuna!; aham atma - I am the Self; sarva bhutasaya-sthitah - who resides in the hearts of all beings; ca - and; aham - I am; bhutanam - of all beings/things; adih - the cause; madhyam ca - and the sustenance; antah eva ca - and the resolution

Meaning of the shloka

The meaning of the above shloka reads thus: " I am the Self, Oh Gudakesa, dwelling in the Heart of every being; I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings." (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter X, Verse 20)

Krishna says to Arjuna, that He is the Atman or the Self in all beings. He says, "Aham Adih bhutanam, I am the efficient and material cause of the creation, the one because of whom the creation of all things takes place. Then madhyam ca, I am the sustaining cause, sthiti-karana of all the bhutas, beings. The sustenance of all beings is because of me. And I am antah, the cause into which they resolve." (Bhagavad Gita - Home Study Course by Swami Dayananda Saraswati)

This single shloka as selected by Ramana Maharshi comprises the quintessence of the Gita. Understanding and reciting this is of supreme importance.