4-5

भगवान् उवाच -
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव च अर्जुन ।
तान्यहम् वेद सर्वाणि न त्वम् वेत्थ परन्तप ॥ ५ ॥

bhagavAn uvAca -
bahUni me vyatItAni janmAni tava ca arjuna |
tAnyaham veda sarvANi na tvam vettha parantapa || 5 ||

भगवान् उवाच [bhagavAn uvAca] The Lord said- बहूनि मे जन्मानि [bahUni me janmAni] Many of my births व्यतीतानि [vyatItAni] have gone by; तव च [tava ca] So have yours, अर्जुन [arjuna] Arjuna. अहम् वेद [aham veda] I know तानि सर्वाणि [tAni sarvANi] about all of them, न त्वम् [na tvam] while you don’t वेत्थ [vettha] know, परन्तप [parantapa] O destroyer of enemies.

The Lord says ‘Many of my births have gone by’- With this statement, the reality of the Lord’s birth is told. By stating the similarity ‘so have yours’, the Lord invites us to a deeper understanding.

Next, the nature of the Lord’s incarnation, the Lord’s body in its actual form and the cause of the Lord’s birth are explained.