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Bhagavad Geeta · Krishna

Chapter 4

ज्ञानकर्मसंन्यासयोग

Path of Knowledge and the Disciplines of Action

Verses

  1. Verse 1

    śrī bhagavānuvāca imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavānahamavyayam| vivasvān manave prāha manurikṣvākave'bravīt||4.1||

    Meaning

    Lord Shri Krishna said: I taught this imperishable philosophy to Vivaswān, the founder of the Sun dynasty; Vivaswān gave it to Manu, the lawgiver, and Manu to King Ikshvāku.

  2. Verse 2

    evaṃ paramparāprāptamimaṃ rājarṣayo viduḥ| sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa||4.2||

    Meaning

    The Divine Kings knew it, for it was their tradition; then, after a long time, it was at last forgotten.

  3. Verse 3

    sa evāyaṃ mayā te'dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ| bhakto'si me sakhā ceti rahasyaṃ hyetaduttamam||4.3||

    Meaning

    It is the same ancient path that I have now revealed to you, for you are my devotee and my friend. It is the supreme secret.

  4. Verse 4

    arjuna uvāca aparaṃ bhavato janma paraṃ janma vivasvataḥ| kathametadvijānīyāṃ tvamādau proktavāniti||4.4||

    Meaning

    Arjuna asked: My Lord! Vyasawana was born before You; how then can You have revealed it to him?

  5. Verse 5

    śrī bhagavānuvāca bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna| tānyahaṃ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṃ vettha parantapa||4.5||

    Meaning

    Lord Shri Krishna replied: I have been born again and again, from time to time; thou too, O Arjuna! My births are known to me, but yours are unknown to you.

  6. Verse 6

    ajo'pi sannavyayātmā bhūtānāmīśvaro'pi san| prakṛtiṃ svāmadhiṣṭhāya saṃbhavāmyātmamāyayā||4.6||

    Meaning

    There is no beginning to Me. Though I am imperishable and the Lord of all that exists, I manifest Myself by My own will and power.

  7. Verse 7

    yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati bhārata| abhyutthānamadharmasya tadā''tmānaṃ sṛjāmyaham||4.7||

    Meaning

    Whenever spirituality decays and materialism is rampant, then, O Arjuna, I reincarnate myself.

  8. Verse 8

    paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām| dharmasaṃsthāpanārthāya saṃbhavāmi yuge yuge||4.8||

    Meaning

    To protect the righteous, to destroy the wicked, and to establish the kingdom of God, I am reborn from age to age.

  9. Verse 9

    janma karma ca me divyamevaṃ yo vetti tattvataḥ| tyaktvā dehaṃ punarjanma naiti māmeti so'rjuna||4.9||

    Meaning

    He who realizes the divine truth concerning My birth and life does not take birth again; and when he leaves his body, he becomes one with Me.

  10. Verse 10

    vītarāgabhayakrodhā manmayā māmupāśritāḥ| bahavo jñānatapasā pūtā madbhāvamāgatāḥ||4.10||

    Meaning

    Many have merged their existences in Mine, being freed from desire, fear, and anger, always filled with Me and purified by the illuminating flame of self-abnegation.

  11. Verse 11

    ye yathā māṃ prapadyante tāṃstathaiva bhajāmyaham| mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ||4.11||

    Meaning

    However men try to worship Me, I welcome them. Whatever path they take, it leads to Me in the end.

  12. Verse 12

    kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṃ siddhiṃ yajanta iha devatāḥ| kṣipraṃ hi mānuṣe loke siddhirbhavati karmajā||4.12||

    Meaning

    Those who seek success worship the Powers, and their actions in this world bear immediate fruit.

  13. Verse 13

    cāturvarṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ| tasya kartāramapi māṃ viddhyakartāramavyayam||4.13||

    Meaning

    The four divisions of society—the wise, the soldier, the merchant, and the laborer—were created by Me, according to the natural distribution of qualities and instincts. I am the author of them, though I Myself do not act and am changeless.

  14. Verse 14

    na māṃ karmāṇi limpanti na me karmaphale spṛhā| iti māṃ yo'bhijānāti karmabhirna sa badhyate||4.14||

    Meaning

    My actions do not bind Me, nor do I desire anything that they can bring. He who thus realizes Me is not enslaved by action.

  15. Verse 15

    evaṃ jñātvā kṛtaṃ karma pūrvairapi mumukṣubhiḥ| kuru karmaiva tasmāttvaṃ pūrvaiḥ pūrvataraṃ kṛtam||4.15||

    Meaning

    In the light of wisdom, our ancestors who sought deliverance performed their acts. Act thou also as our fathers of old did.

  16. Verse 16

    kiṃ karma kimakarmeti kavayo'pyatra mohitāḥ| tatte karma pravakṣyāmi yajjñātvā mokṣyase'śubhāt||4.16||

    Meaning

    What is action and what is inaction? This is a question that has bewildered the wise. But I will declare to you the philosophy of action, and knowing it, you will be free from evil.

  17. Verse 17

    karmaṇo hyapi boddhavyaṃ boddhavyaṃ ca vikarmaṇaḥ| akarmaṇaśca boddhavyaṃ gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ||4.17||

    Meaning

    It is necessary to consider what is right action, what is wrong action, and what is inaction, for the law of action is mysterious.

  18. Verse 18

    karmaṇyakarma yaḥ paśyedakarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ| sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu sa yuktaḥ kṛtsnakarmakṛt||4.18||

    Meaning

    He who can see inaction in action, and action in inaction, is the wisest among men. He is a saint, even though he still acts.

  19. Verse 19

    yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāmasaṅkalpavarjitāḥ| jñānāgnidagdhakarmāṇaṃ tamāhuḥ paṇḍitaṃ budhāḥ||4.19||

    Meaning

    The wise call him a sage, for whatever he undertakes is free from the motive of desire, and his deeds are purified by the fire of wisdom.

  20. Verse 20

    tyaktvā karmaphalāsaṅgaṃ nityatṛpto nirāśrayaḥ| karmaṇyabhipravṛtto'pi naiva kiñcitkaroti saḥ||4.20||

    Meaning

    Having surrendered all claim to the results of his actions, he is always contented and independent; in reality, he does nothing, even though he appears to be acting.

  21. Verse 21

    nirāśīryatacittātmā tyaktasarvaparigrahaḥ| śārīraṃ kevalaṃ karma kurvannāpnoti kilbiṣam||4.21||

    Meaning

    Expecting nothing, his mind and personality controlled, without greed, doing only bodily actions; though he acts, he remains untainted.

  22. Verse 22

    yadṛcchālābhasantuṣṭo dvandvātīto vimatsaraḥ| samaḥ siddhāvasiddhau ca kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate||4.22||

    Meaning

    Content with what comes to him without any effort of his own, rising above the pairs of opposites, free from envy, his mind balanced in both success and failure; though he acts, the consequences do not bind him.

  23. Verse 23

    gatasaṅgasya muktasya jñānāvasthitacetasaḥ| yajñāyācarataḥ karma samagraṃ pravilīyate||4.23||

    Meaning

    He who is without attachment, free, his mind centered in wisdom, and his actions done as a sacrifice, leave no trace behind.

  24. Verse 24

    brahmārpaṇaṃ brahmahavirbrahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam| brahmaiva tena gantavyaṃ brahmakarmasamādhinā||4.24||

    Meaning

    For him, the sacrifice is the Spirit; the Spirit and the offering are one; it is the Spirit that is sacrificed in its own fire, and the man, even in action, is united with God, since his mind never ceases to be fixed on Him while performing the act.

  25. Verse 25

    daivamevāpare yajñaṃ yoginaḥ paryupāsate| brahmāgnāvapare yajñaṃ yajñenaivopajuhvati||4.25||

    Meaning

    Some sages sacrifice to the powers, while others offer themselves on the altar of the eternal.

  26. Verse 26

    śrotrādīnīndriyāṇyanye saṃyamāgniṣu juhvati| śabdādīnviṣayānanya indriyāgniṣu juhvati||4.26||

    Meaning

    Some sacrifice their physical senses in the fire of self-control; others offer up their contact with external objects in the sacrificial fire of their senses.

  27. Verse 27

    sarvāṇīndriyakarmāṇi prāṇakarmāṇi cāpare| ātmasaṃyamayogāgnau juhvati jñānadīpite||4.27||

    Meaning

    Others again sacrifice their activities and vitality in the spiritual fire of self-abnegation, kindled by wisdom.

  28. Verse 28

    dravyayajñāstapoyajñā yogayajñāstathāpare| svādhyāyajñānayajñāśca yatayaḥ saṃśitavratāḥ||4.28||

    Meaning

    Others offer as their sacrifice wealth, austerities, and meditation. Monks, wedded to their vows, renounce their scriptural learning and even their spiritual powers.

  29. Verse 29

    apāne juhvati prāṇa prāṇe'pānaṃ tathā'pare| prāṇāpānagatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāmaparāyaṇāḥ||4.29||

    Meaning

    There are some who practice controlling the vital energy and governing the subtle forces of prana and apana, thereby sacrificing their prana to apana, or their apana to prana.

  30. Verse 30

    apare niyatāhārāḥ prāṇānprāṇeṣu juhvati| sarve'pyete yajñavido yajñakṣapitakalmaṣāḥ||4.30||

    Meaning

    Others, controlling their diet, sacrifice their worldly life to the spiritual fire. All understand the principle of sacrifice, and by it their sins are washed away.

  31. Verse 31

    yajñaśiṣṭāmṛtabhujo yānti brahma sanātanam| nāyaṃ loko'styayajñasya kuto'nyaḥ kurusattama||4.31||

    Meaning

    Tasting the nectar of immortality, as the reward of sacrifice, they reach the Eternal. This world is not for those who refuse to sacrifice; nor is the other world.

  32. Verse 32

    evaṃ bahuvidhā yajñā vitatā brahmaṇo mukhe| karmajānviddhi tānsarvānevaṃ jñātvā vimokṣyase||4.32||

    Meaning

    In this way, other sacrifices may also be undertaken for the sake of the Spirit. Know that they all depend on action. Knowing this, you will be free.

  33. Verse 33

    śreyāndravyamayādyajñājjñānayajñaḥ parantapa| sarvaṃ karmākhilaṃ pārtha jñāne parisamāpyate||4.33||

    Meaning

    The sacrifice of wisdom is superior to any material sacrifice, for, O Arjuna, the pinnacle of action is always realization.

  34. Verse 34

    tadviddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā| upadekṣyanti te jñānaṃ jñāninastattvadarśinaḥ||4.34||

    Meaning

    This you shall learn by prostrating yourself at the master's feet, questioning them, and serving them. The wise who have realized the truth will teach you wisdom.

  35. Verse 35

    yajjñātvā na punarmohamevaṃ yāsyasi pāṇḍava| yena bhūtānyaśeṣeṇa drakṣyasyātmanyatho mayi||4.35||

    Meaning

    Having known That, you shall never again be confounded; and, O Arjuna, by the power of that wisdom, you shall see all these people as if they were your own Self, and therefore as Me.

  36. Verse 36

    api cedasi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ| sarvaṃ jñānaplavenaiva vṛjinaṃ santariṣyasi||4.36||

    Meaning

    Even if you are the greatest of sinners, you will cross over all sin by the ferryboat of wisdom.

  37. Verse 37

    yathaidhāṃsi samiddho'gnirbhasmasātkurute'rjuna| jñānāgniḥ sarvakarmāṇi bhasmasātkurute tathā||4.37||

    Meaning

    As the kindled fire consumes the fuel, so, O Arjuna, the embers of action are burnt to ashes in the flame of wisdom.

  38. Verse 38

    na hi jñānena sadṛśaṃ pavitramiha vidyate| tatsvayaṃ yogasaṃsiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati||4.38||

    Meaning

    There is nothing in the world so purifying as wisdom; and he who is a perfect saint finds that at last within himself.

  39. Verse 39

    śraddhāvā~llabhate jñānaṃ tatparaḥ saṃyatendriyaḥ| jñānaṃ labdhvā parāṃ śāntimacireṇādhigacchati||4.39||

    Meaning

    He who is full of faith attains wisdom, and he who can control his senses, having attained that wisdom, will soon attain Supreme Peace.

  40. Verse 40

    ajñaścāśraddadhānaśca saṃśayātmā vinaśyati| nāyaṃ loko'sti na paro na sukhaṃ saṃśayātmanaḥ||4.40||

    Meaning

    But the ignorant man, and he who has no faith, and the skeptic are lost. Neither in this world nor elsewhere is there any happiness in store for him who always doubts.

  41. Verse 41

    yogasaṃnyastakarmāṇaṃ jñānasaṃchinnasaṃśayam| ātmavantaṃ na karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya||4.41||

    Meaning

    But the one who has renounced their actions for meditation, who has cleaved their doubts in two by the sword of wisdom, and who remains always enthroned in their Self, is not bound by their actions.

  42. Verse 42

    tasmādajñānasaṃbhūtaṃ hṛtsthaṃ jñānāsinā''tmanaḥ| chittvainaṃ saṃśayaṃ yogamātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata||4.42||

    Meaning

    Therefore, cleave asunder with the sword of wisdom the doubts of the heart, which your own ignorance has engendered, and follow the path of wisdom and arise!

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