Verse 1

In plain words

This yoga that has just been laid out across two chapters — the discipline of knowledge joined with renunciation, and the discipline of action as its means, the very point where the Veda's purport comes to rest, holding both engagement in the world and withdrawal from it — this, and no other, is what the Lord means to teach throughout the whole of the Gītā. And so, seeing in it the Veda's own purport brought to completion, the Blessed Lord now praises this yoga by telling the story of its lineage —

This yoga I laid out across those two chapters — this is what I taught Vivasvat, the Sun-god, at the very dawn of creation, so that the kṣatriyas who protect the world would carry its strength within them, strong enough to protect the priestly order in turn. And when both the priestly order and the ruling order are protected, the whole world can be sustained. This yoga does not decay, because what it yields does not decay: the fruit of this discipline of true seeing — liberation itself — is never lost. Vivasvat passed it to Manu, and Manu told it to his own son Ikṣvāku, the first of kings.

Close to the Sanskrit

This yoga which has been described by the pair of chapters, characterized by the discipline of knowledge, accompanied by renunciation, the means that is the discipline of action, in which the purport of the Veda culminates — characterized by engagement and by withdrawal — and throughout the Gītā, this alone is the yoga intended to be taught by the Lord. Therefore, considering it the [very] purport of the Veda now concluded, the Blessed Lord praises it by narrating its lineage —

This yoga, described by the pair of chapters, I taught to Vivasvat, the son of Aditi, at the beginning of creation, for the sake of imparting strength to the kṣatriyas, the protectors of the world; equipped with the strength of that yoga, they become capable of protecting the priestly order. When the priestly order and the ruling order are [both] protected, one is able to sustain the world. [This yoga is] imperishable, because its fruit is imperishable — for the fruit of this yoga, characterized by the discipline of right vision, called liberation, never perishes. And that Vivasvat declared it to Manu; Manu told it to Ikṣvāku, his own son, the first king. || 1 ||

In plain words

“Brother-in-law! Long ago I taught this sacred Jñāna Yoga to the sun. It came down in succession to Manu and to Ikṣvāku, and through them the rājarṣis came to know it. After that, it perished in the world. To hand this imperishable yoga, which thus perished, back to the world, I Myself have had to bind Myself by a vow once again,” said Kṛṣṇa.

In plain words

The karma of the Lord Sūrya is not artificial. That is why, without any fanfare or advertisements (publicity), silently, he keeps to the right order at the right time. He does not waste even the time that comes from him; he appoints that very time as the measure of men's lives, and through time he determines not only joys and foods but also good and bad, moving as a guide for jīvas. He provides for jīvas the path of sadgati. It is because he is so virtuous, a great tyāgi, a yogi of niṣkāma karma, that God long ago taught this yoga to the sun; otherwise, would such a thing be possible for ordinary people? If now He is teaching this imperishable yoga again to Arjuna, who stands as the representative of the people, Arjuna must be as virtuous as the sun, must he not? Readers may reflect on how great his story must be. Were such purity not in this Arjuna, why would Kṛṣṇa Paramātma have resolved on so much effort? Without fitness, God is not within everyone's reach. There is no doubt that in Arjuna there is the fitness that befits His saṅkalpa.