Read a Lecture by Srila Prabhupada on this Verse

AJauRNa ovac
APar& >avTaae JaNMa Par& JaNMa ivvSvTa" )
k-QaMaeTaiÜJaaNaqYaa& TvMaadaE Pa[ae¢-vaiNaiTa )) 4 ))

Arjuna is an accepted devotee of the Lord, so how could he not believe Kåñëa's words? The fact is that Arjuna is not inquiring for himself but for those who do not believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead or for the demons who do not like the idea that Kåñëa should be accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead; for them only Arjuna inquires on this point, as if he were himself not aware of the Personality of Godhead, or Kåñëa. As it will be evident from the Tenth Chapter, Arjuna knew perfectly well that Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the fountainhead of everything and the last word in transcendence. Of course, Kåñëa also appeared as the son of Devaké on this earth. How Kåñëa remained the same Supreme Personality of Godhead, the eternal original person, is very difficult for an ordinary man to understand. Therefore, to clarify this point, Arjuna put this question before Kåñëa so that He Himself could speak authoritatively. That Kåñëa is the supreme authority is accepted by the whole world, not only at present but from time immemorial, and the demons alone reject Him. Anyway, since Kåñëa is the authority accepted by all, Arjuna put this question before Him in order that Kåñëa would describe Himself without being depicted by the demons, who always try to distort Him in a way understandable to the demons and their followers. It is necessary that everyone, for his own interest, know the science of Kåñëa. Therefore, when Kåñëa Himself speaks about Himself, it is auspicious for all the worlds. To the demons, such explanations by Kåñëa Himself may appear to be strange because the demons always study Kåñëa from their own standpoint, but those who are devotees heartily welcome the statements of Kåñëa when they are spoken by Kåñëa Himself. The devotees will always worship such authoritative statements of Kåñëa because they are always eager to know more and more about Him. The atheists, who consider Kåñëa an ordinary man, may in this way come to know that Kåñëa is superhuman, that He is sac-cid-änanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]-the eternal form of bliss and knowledge-that He is transcendental, and that He is above the domination of the modes of material nature and above the influence of time and space. A devotee of Kåñëa, like Arjuna, is undoubtedly above any misunderstanding of the transcendental position of Kåñëa. Arjuna's putting this question before the Lord is simply an attempt by the devotee to defy the atheistic attitude of persons who consider Kåñëa to be an ordinary human being, subject to the modes of material nature.