โศลก 9.119.19.29.39.49.59.69.79.89.99.109.119.129.139.149.159.169.179.189.199.209.219.229.239.249.259.269.279.289.299.309.319.329.339.34

Fools disregard Me, clad in human form, not knowing My higher Being as the great Lord of (all) beings.

Fools disregard me when I have taken on a human body, not knowing my higher being as the great lord of beings.

Krishna speaks of those who fail to recognize him. Fools disregard him because he has taken a human body. They do not know his higher being as the great lord of all beings. The verse names a temptation present throughout the Gita: to see Krishna merely as a man, a prince and a charioteer. Traditions explain the human form in different ways, but all agree that its ordinariness can conceal what it reveals. For Arjuna, who knows Krishna as a friend, this is a gentle challenge.