Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 5

श्रीभगवानुवाच । बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन । तान्यहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप

śrībhagavānuvāca | bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna | tānyahaṃ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṃ vettha parantapa

Translation

Many births of Mine have passed, as well as of thine, O Arjuna; all these I know, thou knowest not, O harasser of foes.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

bahūni

many

me

my

vyatītāni

past

janmāni

births

tava

thy

ca

and

arjuna

O Arjuna

tāni

these

aham

I

veda

know

sarvāṇi

all

na

not

tvam

thou

vettha

knowest

parantapa

O Parantapa

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Thou knowest not, because thy power of vision is obstructed by thy past action, good and bad (dharma and adharma). I, on the other hand, know them, because I am by nature eternal, pure, wise, unbound, and My power of vision is unobstructed.