The source no one can trace

na me viduḥ suragaṇāḥ prabhavaṃ na maharṣayaḥahamādirhi devānāṃ maharṣīṇāṃ ca sarvaśaḥ

Neither the gods nor the great sages know my origin. I am the source of them all, in every way.

What it means

Krishna is revered in Hindu tradition as God, and here he speaks as the source behind everything. Even the wisest beings cannot trace where he begins, because they begin in him. This is not a put-down of sages. It is about depth. A source cannot be measured by what flows from it.

The story

Arjuna grew up honouring gods and seers as the highest authorities. Now his own charioteer, the friend who jokes with him, quietly says that even they came from him. Arjuna does not argue. He listens.

In your life

An astronomer at a telescope at two in the morning sees light older than our planet, and feels small in a good way. Tonight, step outside for five minutes and look up, without your phone.