In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna sometimes refers to himself in the third person. Why?
To better understand, let’s consider a specific example. In the eighteenth chapter, Krishna recommends working in a mood of worshiping that Supreme Person, from whom everything comes and by whom everything is pervaded (18.46). A few verses later, Krishna refers to himself in the first-person (18.54-58).
When using the third-person reference, might Krishna be referring to someone other than himself? No; the attributes of the third-person divinity are said to be present in Krishna. Consider the attributes mentioned in 18.47. Krishna has earlier declared that everything comes from him (10.08) and that everything is pervaded by him (11.40) — and that work is to be offered to him (03.30 & 09.27).
Why, then, might Krishna use the third-person reference? Possibly to indicate how divinity is conceived by the seekers described in those sections. The section with the third-person reference is about karma-yoga (18.41-48), whereas the section with the first-person reference is about bhakti-yoga (18.54-58).
Karma-yogis don’t always have a clear conception of the Divine; they are primarily concerned about staying detached and disentangled while working. Even if they start offering those fruits to the Divine, that needn’t immediately clarify their conception of the Divine. While discussing such karma-yogis, Krishna refers to himself in the third-person (18.48).
Krishna then outlines how karma-yogis evolve through jnana-yoga (18.49-53) to bhakti-yoga (18.54-55). After sketching this multi-path progression toward liberation (18.41-55), Krishna delineates an alternative: bhakti-yoga as the single pathway to liberation from wherever we are presently (18.56-59). Bhakti-yogis know whom their object of love is and why he is loveable. While discussing bhakti-yogis, Krishna refers to himself in the first-person (18.54-59).
One-sentence summary:
Krishna’s third-person and first-person references to himself in particular sections could correlate with the conceptions of Divinity of the seekers described in those sections.
Think it over:
- How can we know that Krishna’s third-person references don’t refer to someone other than him?
- How do the conceptions of divinity differ for karma-yogis and bhakti-yogis?
- Why might Krishna use the third-person to refer to himself?
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18.46: By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.
To know more about this verse, please click on the image
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