Knowledge Through Disciplic Succession 57
some millions of years ago to the sun god, people would say, “Svāmījī is speaking some nonsense.” But this is not the case with Kṛṣṇa, for He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whether we believe that Kṛṣṇa spoke  Bhagavad-gītā  to the sun god or not, this fact is being accepted by Arjuna. Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord, and therefore he knew that it was quite possible for Kṛṣṇa to have spoken to someone millions of years before. Although Arjuna personally accepts the statements of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in order to clarify the situation for people who would come after him, he asks:
aparaṁ bhavato janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ katham etad vijānīyāṁ tvam ādau proktavān iti
“The sun-god Vivasvān is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?” (Bg. 4.4)
Actually this is a very intelligent question, and Kṛṣṇa answers it in this way:
bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṁ vettha parantapa
“Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!” (Bg. 4.5)
Although Kṛṣṇa is God, He incarnates many, many times. Arjuna, being a living entity, also takes his birth