बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते ।वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥
bahūnāṃ janmanāmante jñānavānmāṃ prapadyate |vāsudevaḥ sarvamiti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ ||
At the end of many births, the one who has knowledge comes to me, realizing that Vasudeva is all this. Such a great-souled one is very hard to find.
Explanation
Krishna has just spoken of four kinds of devotees and singled out the wise one (jñānī). Here he says such wisdom ripens only after many lifetimes, when a person sees that Vasudeva, a name for Krishna as the divine present in everything, is all that exists. Such a great-souled person (mahātmā) is rare. Advaita and devotional traditions differ on whether this seeing means identity with the Supreme or loving surrender to a Lord who pervades all.