Arjun's question, in this verse, begins a new section in which Krishna explains himself to be the Supreme, Original Person. Arjun has a very practical motive in asking this question: Krishna said that the conditioned entity, unable to access the knowledge inherent within his own heart, must receive that knowledge from the hearts of others who do have that knowledge. This leaves an important point unexplained:

If lust covers the knowledge of all souls in contact with material nature (as Krishna stated in Chapter Three, texts 36-43) then to whom should one turn for obtaining knowledge? Krishna partially answered this question by stating in the first and second texts of this chapter that knowledge descends from him through a disciplic succession. Yet a succession of ordinary souls, regardless of how ancient or grandiose, is simply ordinary. Thus, Arjun wants Krishna to clearly indicate that he, the origin of the succession is not an ordinary soul at all, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, unconditioned by material energy.

Thus Arjun asks how Krishna, apparently millions of years younger than the Sun-god, could instruct the Sun-god before the Sun-god instructed anyone else. For an ordinary person, it would be impossible. Arjun asks this question to draw Krishna into explaining that he is not at all ordinary.