Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 7 · Verse 7
BG 7.7
Verse 7 of Chapter 7 — Knowledge and Wisdom.
mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya | mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva ||
Sanskrit / Transliteration
TRANSLATION
O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.
EXPLANATION
The central claim of Chapter 7 and the Bhakti Kanda. After enumerating the divine qualities present in each element (earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, ego — 7.4), Krishna states: I am the thread that holds all of it together. The pearl-and-thread metaphor is exact: without the thread, the pearls are scattered and meaningless; with the thread, they form a whole. This is not a claim about religious supremacy — it is a philosophical statement: there is one organizing principle behind all of existence, and that is what Krishna represents.