Sanskrit
इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम् । विवस्वान्मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत् ॥
imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavān aham avyayam vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt
Translation
This imperishable yoga I declared to Vivasvân; Vivasvân taught it to Manu; Manu to Ikshvâku told it.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Chapter 4 opens with a claim that will provoke Arjuna’s challenge two verses later: this yoga is imperishable, and Krishna taught it long ago, handed down from the sun-god Vivasvân to Manu to Ikshvâku. It’s a deliberate escalation from Chapter 3’s practical case for karma yoga into a claim about the teaching’s own antiquity and authority, setting up the doctrine of periodic divine transmission that runs through the rest of the chapter.
Concepts