By the ṛṣis it has been sung in various ways, in various Vedic verses, and also through the words of the Brahma-sūtras, which are determinative and reasoned.

Kṛṣṇa validates His teaching by citing three sources of authority: the ṛṣis (seers), the chandās (Vedic verses), and the Brahma-sūtras (Vedānta aphorisms).

This verse establishes scriptural authority (śabda-pramāṇa) as valid means of knowledge. Direct experience may be limited; revealed wisdom (śruti) extends our understanding.

The Brahma-sūtras — attributed to Bādarāyaṇa — systematize Vedāntic doctrine. The Bhagavad Gītā presents the same truths in devotional rather than dialectical form.