Chapter VII · Śloka 3
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये ।
यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥
यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥
manuṣyāṇāṃ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye |
yatatām api siddhānāṃ kaścin māṃ vetti tattvataḥ ||
yatatām api siddhānāṃ kaścin māṃ vetti tattvataḥ ||
Among thousands of men, perhaps one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and attain perfection, perhaps one knows Me in truth.
This verse establishes the rarity of genuine seekers and rarer still the one who truly knows the Supreme — not as discouragement but to indicate the supreme worth of such knowledge. The word tattvataḥ (in truth, in reality) implies not merely intellectual acquaintance but ontological recognition.