BhG 4.4

syntax

arjunaḥ (Arjuna) uvāca (he spoke):
bhavataḥ (Your) janma (birth) aparam (later) [asti] (it is),
vivasvataḥ (of Vivasvant) janma (birth) param (earlier) [asti] (it is).
[ataḥ eva] (therefore) tvam (you) ādau (in the beginning) [vivasvate] (to Vivasvant) proktavān iti (one who declared).
etat (this) [aham] (I) katham (how?) vijānīyām (I should undersand).

grammar

arjunaḥ	–	arjuna 1n.1 m. – white, clear, Arjuna;
uvāca	–	√vac (to speak) Perf. P 1v.1 – he spoke;
aparam	–	a-para 1n.1 n. – different, later, other;
bhavataḥ	–	bhavant 6n.1 m. – Your (honorific) (from: √bhū – to be, bha-vant – honorific form of address, looks like PPr of: √bhū, but differs in declension in: nominative singular; -mant / -vant – suffix denoting one who possesses);
janma	–	janman 1n.1 n. – birth (from: √jan – to be born);
param	–	para 1n.1 n. – distant, beyond, out, previous, ancient;
janma	–	janman 1n.1 n. – birth (from: √jan – to be born);
vivasvataḥ	–	vi-vasvant 6n.1 m. – of one who illuminates, who has rays, of the Sun (from: vi-√vas – to shine forth; -mant / -vant – suffix denoting one who possesses);
katham	–	av. – how?, in what manner?
etat	–	etat sn. 1n.1 n. – this;
vijānīyām	–	vi-√jñā (to distinguish, to know, to understand) Imperat. P 3v.1 – I should understand;
tvam	–	yuṣmat sn. 1n.1 – you;
ādau	–	ādi 7n.1 m. – in the beginning;
proktavān	–	proktavant (pra-√vac – to declare, to speak) PP pas. 1n.1 – one who declared;
iti	–	av. – thus (used to close the quotation);

textual variants

aparaṁ → avaraṁ (lower, later);
aparaṁ bhavato janma → ādyaṁ bhagavato janma (your birth now);
etad → evam (thus);
iti → asi (you are);

Śāṃkara

bhagavatā vipratiṣiddham uktam iti mā bhūt kasyacid buddhir iti parihārārthaṃ codyam iva kurvann arjuna uvāca—

aparam arvāg vasudeva-gṛhe bhavato janma paraṃ pūrvaṃ sargādau janma utpattiḥ vivasvata ādityasya | tat katham etad vijānīyām aviruddhārthatayā yas tvam evādau proktavān imaṃ yogam | sa eva tvam idānīṃ mahyaṃ proktavān asīti

Rāmānuja

asmin prasaṅge bhagavadavatārayāthātmyaṃ yathāvaj jñātum arjuna uvāca

kālasaṅkhyayā avaram asmajjanmasamakālaṃ hi bhavato janma / vivasvataś ca janma kālasaṅkhyayā param aṣṭāviṃśaticaturyugasaṅkhyāsaṅkhyātam / tvam evādau proktavān iti katham etad asaṃbhāvanīyaṃ yathārthaṃ jānīyām ? nanu janmāntareṇāpi vaktuṃ śakyam, janmāntarakṛtasya mahatāṃ smṛtiś ca yujyata iti nātra kaścid virodhaḥ / na cāsau vaktāram enaṃ vasudevatanayaṃ sarveśvaraṃ na jānāti, yata evaṃ vakṣyati, „paraṃ brahma paraṃ dhāma pavitraṃ paramaṃ bhavān / puruṣaṃ śāśvataṃ divyam ādidevam ajaṃ vibhum // āhus tvām ṛṣayas sarve devarṣir nāradas tathā / asito devalo vyāsaḥ svayaṃ caiva bravīṣi me” iti / yudhiṣṭhirarājasūyādiṣu bhīṣmādibhyaś cāsakṛcchrutam, „kṛṣṇa eva hi lokānām utpattir api cāpyayaḥ / kṛṣṇasya hi kṛte bhūtam idaṃ viśvaṃ carācaram” ityevamādiṣu / kṛṣṇasya hi kṛte iti, kṛṣṇasya śeṣabhūtam idaṃ kṛtsnaṃ jagad ityarthaḥ // atrocyate jānāty evāyaṃ bhagavantaṃ vasudevasūnaṃ pārthaḥ / jānato ‚py ajānata iva pṛcchato ‚yam āśayaḥ nikhilaheyapratyanīkakalyāṇaikatānasya sarveśvarasya sarvajñasya satyasaṅkalpasyāvāptasamastakāmasya karmaparavaśadevamanuṣyādisajātīyaṃ janma kim indrajālādivan mithyā, uta satyam? satyatve ca kathaṃ janmaprakāraḥ? kim ātmako ‚yaṃ dehaḥ? kaś ca janmahetuḥ? kadā ca janma? kim arthaṃ ca janmeti / parihāraprakāreṇa praśnārtho vijñāyate

Śrīdhara

bhagavato vivasvantaṃ prati yogopadeśāsambhavaṃ paśyann arjuna uvāca aparam iti | aparam arvācīnaṃ tava janma | paraṃ prāk kālīnaṃ vivasvato janma | tasmāt tavādhunātanatvāt cirantanāya vivasvate tvam ādau yogaṃ proktavān iti etat katham ahaṃ jānīyāṃ jñātuṃ śaknuyām

Madhusūdana

yā bhagavati vāsudeve manuṣyatvenāsarvajñatvānityatvāśaṅkā mūrkhāṇāṃ tām apanetum anuvadann arjuna āśaṅkate – aparam iti | aparam alpa-kālīnam idānantanaṃ vasudeva-gṛhe bhavato janma śarīra-grahaṇaṃ vihīnaṃ ca manuṣyatvāt | paraṃ bahu-kālīnaṃ sargādi-bhavam utkṛṣṭaṃ ca devatvāt, vivasvato janma | atrātmano janmābhāvasya prāg-vyutpāditatvād dehābhiprāyeṇaivārjunasya praśnaḥ | ataḥ katham etad vijānīyām aviruddhārthatayā | etac chabdārtham eva vivṛṇoti | tvam ādau yogaṃ proktavān iti | tvam idānīṃtano manuṣyo ‚sarvajñaḥ sargādau pūrvatanāya sarvajñāyādityāya proktavān iti viruddhārtham etad iti bhāvaḥ |

atrāyaṃ nirgalito ‚rthaḥ | etad dehānavacchinnasya tava dehāntarāvacchedena vādityaṃ pratyupadeṣṭṛtvam etad-dehena vā | nādyaḥ | janmāntarānubhūtasyāsarvajñena smartum aśakyatvāt | anyathā mamāpi janmāntarānubhūta-smaraṇa-prasaṅgaḥ | tava mama ca manuṣyatvenāsarvajñatvāviśeṣāt | tad uktam abhiyuktaiḥ janmāntarānubhūtaṃ ca na smaryate iti | nāpi dvitīyaḥ sargādāv idānīṃtanasya dehasyāsad-bhāvāt | tad evaṃ dehāntareṇa sargādau sad-bhāvānupappattir ity asarvajñatvānityatvābhyāṃ dvāv arjunasya pūrva-pakṣau

Viśvanātha

uktam artham asambhavaṃ pṛcchati aparam idānīntanam | paraṃ purātanam ataḥ katham etat pratyemīti bhāvaḥ

Baladeva

kṛṣṇasya sanātanatve sārvajñe ca śaṅkamānān anabhijñān nirākartum arjuna uvāca aparam iti | aparam arvācīnaṃ paraṃ parācīnaṃ tasmād ādhunikas tvaṃ prācīnāya vivasvate yogam uktavān ity etat katham ahaṃ vijānīyāṃ pratīyām | ayam arthaḥ : na khalu sarveśvaratvena kṛṣṇam arjuno na vetti tasya narākhya-tad-avatāratvena tādrūpyāt, paraṃ dhāma paraṃ dhāma ity ādi tad-ukteś ca | na tv atat-sarvajña-viṣayām ajña-śaṅkām apākartum aparam ity ādi pṛcchati | sarveśvaraḥ sa yathā sva-tattvaṃ vetti na tathānyaḥ | tatas tan-mukhāmbujād eva tad-rūpa-taj-janmādi parkāśanīyaṃ loka-maṅgalāya | tad-arthaṃ sva-mahimānaṃ pravadan vikatthanatayā sa nākṣepyaḥ, kintu stavanīya eva kṛpālutayā | tac ca manuṣākṛti-para-brahmaṇas tava rūpaṃ janmādi ca loka-vilakṣaṇaṃ kiṃ-vidhaṃ kim-arthakaṃ kiṃ-kālam iti vijñasyāpy ājñavat praśno ‚yam ajña-śaṅkā-nirāsaka-prativacanārthaḥ