Shrimad Bhagavad Gitathe picture story
The whole story in 18 drawn panels across 18 parts, from the first shloka to the last. Under every picture is that episode in one line.
Meet the cast
Tap a character to read who they are.
Chapter 1
The Gita opens with a blind king's question. Dhritarashtra asks Sanjaya, who sees the field of Kurukshetra by the divine sight Maharshi Vyasa gave him, what his sons and the sons of Pandu did there. Duryodhana goes to his teacher Drona and names the great warriors on both sides. Bhishma blows his conch, and the conches of both armies answer: Panchajanya in the hands of Hrishikesha, Devadatta in Arjuna's. Arjuna asks Achyuta to set his chariot between the two armies so he can see whom he must fight. There he sees grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, friends and fathers-in-law. His limbs give way, his mouth dries, and Gandiva slips from his hand. He argues that killing kinsmen will destroy family dharma, bring confusion of varna and drag the ancestors down. He would sooner be killed unarmed. Then he sinks down on the seat of the chariot and lets fall his bow and arrows, his mind overcome with sorrow.
From the textधर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः । मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत संजय
Sanjaya, on the holy field of Kurukshetra, the field of dharma, my sons and the sons of Pandu gathered, eager for battle. What did they do?Bhagavad Gita 1.1
From the textकृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत् । दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम्
Overcome with deep compassion, spoke in sorrow: Krishna, seeing my own people standing here eager to fight,Bhagavad Gita 1.28
From the textएवमुक्त्वार्जुनः संख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् । विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः
Having spoken thus on the battlefield, Arjuna cast aside his bow and arrows and sank down on the seat of the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.Bhagavad Gita 1.47
Chapter 2
Arjuna, in tears, refuses to fight and then does something new. He asks Shri Krishna to teach him, calling himself His disciple. Bhagwan smiles and begins. The wise grieve for neither the living nor the dead. The Self is never born and never dies; weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it. As a man puts off worn clothes and puts on new ones, the embodied Self leaves worn-out bodies and takes new ones. Then Bhagwan speaks of svadharma: for a kshatriya there is nothing better than a righteous war, and to flee would bring dishonour. From verse 39 He turns to buddhi yoga, action with a steady mind. Your right is to the work alone, never to its fruits. Evenness of mind is yoga; yoga is skill in action. Arjuna asks how a man of steady wisdom speaks, sits and walks. The answer closes the chapter: he draws in his senses as a tortoise draws in its limbs, and at the end he attains the peace of Brahman.
From the textन जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः । अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे
It is never born, nor does it ever die. Having been, it will not cease to be. Unborn, eternal, everlasting and ancient, it is not slain when the body is slain.Bhagavad Gita 2.20
From the textवासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि । तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही
As a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so the embodied Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters new ones.Bhagavad Gita 2.22
From the textकर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि
Your right is to the work alone, never to its fruits. Do not let the fruit of action be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction.Bhagavad Gita 2.47
From the textध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते । सङ्गात्संजायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते
When a man dwells on sense objects, attachment to them is born. From attachment comes desire, and from desire anger arises.Bhagavad Gita 2.62
Chapter 3
Arjuna is puzzled. If understanding is higher than action, why push him into this terrible deed? Shri Krishna answers that there have always been two paths, knowledge for the Sankhyas and action for the yogis, and that no one escapes action by refusing to begin it. Nobody stays without acting even for a moment; the gunas of prakriti drive everyone. So do your prescribed work, without attachment, as yajna. Prajapati created beings together with yajna, and the wheel turns: from food come beings, from rain comes food, from yajna comes rain. Janaka and others reached perfection through action. Bhagwan Himself has nothing to gain in the three worlds and still works, because people follow the example of the great. All actions are done by the gunas; only the deluded think "I am the doer." Better one's own dharma done imperfectly than another's done well. Arjuna asks what drives a man to sin against his will. It is desire, answers Bhagwan, born of rajas, which turns into anger. Master the senses and slay this enemy.
From the textनियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः । शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः
Do your prescribed work, for action is better than inaction. Even the upkeep of your body would not be possible without action.Bhagavad Gita 3.8
From the textतस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर । असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुषः
So always do the work that must be done, without attachment. By working without attachment a person reaches the Supreme.Bhagavad Gita 3.19
From the textयद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः । स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते
Whatever a great person does, others do the same. Whatever standard he sets, the world follows.Bhagavad Gita 3.21
From the textश्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः
Better is one's own dharma, though imperfectly done, than the dharma of another well performed. Death in one's own dharma is better; another's dharma is full of fear.Bhagavad Gita 3.35
Chapter 4
Shri Krishna gave this yoga to Vivasvan, the Sun; Vivasvan gave it to Manu, Manu to Ikshvaku, and the royal sages kept it until time wore it away. Arjuna asks how one born so recently could have taught the Sun. Bhagwan answers that He and Arjuna have both had many births. He remembers all of His, Arjuna none. Unborn and imperishable, He still takes birth by His own Maya whenever dharma declines, to protect the good, destroy the wicked and set dharma on its feet again, age after age. Then the teaching turns to action itself. Even the wise are confused about what action and inaction are. The one who sees inaction in action, whose deeds are burnt in the fire of knowledge, is never bound. Many kinds of yajna are named and the yajna of knowledge is placed above them all. Seek that knowledge from those who have seen the truth, with humility, questions and service. The chapter ends with a command: cut doubt with the sword of knowledge and stand up.
From the textयदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्
Whenever dharma declines, O Bharata, and adharma rises up, then I bring Myself forth.Bhagavad Gita 4.7
From the textपरित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे
To protect the good, to destroy the wrongdoers, and to establish dharma firmly, I appear in every age.Bhagavad Gita 4.8
From the textतद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया । उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः
Learn this by bowing at their feet, by asking honest questions, and by serving them. The wise who have seen the truth will teach you that knowledge.Bhagavad Gita 4.34
From the textन हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते । तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति
Nothing in this world purifies like knowledge. One who is perfected in yoga finds it within himself in time.Bhagavad Gita 4.38
Chapter 5
Arjuna is still torn. He asks plainly which is better, renouncing action or the yoga of action. Bhagwan answers that both lead to the highest good, but karma yoga is the easier and the surer, because true renunciation is hard to reach without it. Sankhya and Yoga are one road; only children call them two. The yogi goes on seeing, hearing, eating, walking and breathing, and knows that it is the senses moving among their objects. He offers his work to Brahman and stays untouched, as a lotus leaf sits on water and stays dry. The embodied self rests in the city of nine gates, doing nothing and causing nothing. The wise look with the same eye on a learned brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater. Pleasures born of contact are wombs of sorrow; whoever can bear the surge of desire and anger before the body falls is a yogi. The chapter closes with the sage who knows Bhagwan as the friend of all beings, and finds peace.
From the textब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः । लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा
One who does his work offering it to Brahman, setting attachment aside, is not touched by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water.Bhagavad Gita 5.10
From the textविद्याविनयसंपन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि । शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः
The wise see the same in a brahmana rich in learning and humility, in a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater.Bhagavad Gita 5.18
From the textये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते । आद्यन्तवन्तः कौन्तेय न तेषु रमते बुधः
The pleasures born of contact are wombs of sorrow. They begin and they end, O Kaunteya, and the wise man takes no delight in them.Bhagavad Gita 5.22
From the textभोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् । सुहृदं सर्वभूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिमृच्छति
Knowing Me as the one who receives all yajnas and tapas, the great Lord of all the worlds and the friend of every being, he attains peace.Bhagavad Gita 5.29
Chapter 6
The sannyasi, Shri Krishna begins, is the one who does his duty without leaning on its fruit. Raise yourself by your own self, He says; the self is your only friend and your only enemy. Then the sitting itself. A clean place, a firm seat neither high nor low, kusha grass, then deerskin, then cloth. Body, head and neck held straight, eyes resting on the tip of the nose, the mind on Bhagwan. Eat in measure, sleep in measure. The steadied mind is like a lamp in a windless place that does not flicker. Arjuna answers honestly that the mind is as hard to hold as the wind. Bhagwan agrees, and gives the cure in two words, abhyasa and vairagya, practice and dispassion. Arjuna asks about the man of faith who falls short in this life. No one who does good comes to ruin, Krishna tells him. He is born again among the pure or in a family of yogis and takes up where he left off. Highest of all is the yogi who worships Bhagwan with faith.
From the textउद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् । आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः
Let a man lift himself up by his own self, and never let himself sink. The self alone is one's friend, and the self alone is one's enemy.Bhagavad Gita 6.5
From the textयथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता । योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः
A lamp in a windless place does not flicker. That is the likeness given for the yogi of controlled mind, practising the yoga of the Self.Bhagavad Gita 6.19
From the textअसंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् । अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते
Without doubt, O mighty-armed, the mind is restless and hard to hold. But by practice, O Kaunteya, and by dispassion, it is held.Bhagavad Gita 6.35
From the textयोगिनामपि सर्वेषां मद्गतेनान्तरात्मना । श्रद्धावान् भजते यो मां स मे युक्ततमो मतः
And of all yogis, the one who worships Me with faith, his inner self gone into Me, is the one I hold to be most closely joined with Me.Bhagavad Gita 6.47
Chapter 7
Shri Bhagwan now speaks of Himself directly, promising Arjuna knowledge with its realisation, after which nothing remains to be known. Among thousands, hardly one strives for perfection, and among those, hardly one knows Him as He is. He names His two natures: the lower, eightfold prakriti of earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and ego, and the higher, the life-principle that upholds the world. All beings spring from these; He is the source and dissolution of everything, and all is strung on Him like pearls on a thread. He is the taste in water, the light of sun and moon, Om in the Vedas. His divine maya of the three gunas is hard to cross, but those who take refuge in Him cross it. Four kinds of virtuous people worship Him: the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth and the wise. Rarest is the mahatma who, after many births, knows that Vasudeva is all. Even boons sought from other devatas are granted by Him alone.
From the textमत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किंचिदस्ति धनंजय । मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव
Dhananjaya, there is nothing whatever higher than Me. All this is strung on Me, like rows of pearls on a thread.Bhagavad Gita 7.7
From the textदैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया । मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते
This divine maya of Mine, made of the gunas, is hard to cross. But those who take refuge in Me alone cross over this maya.Bhagavad Gita 7.14
From the textबहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते । वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः
At the end of many births, the one who has knowledge takes refuge in Me, knowing that Vasudeva is all. Such a mahatma is very hard to find.Bhagavad Gita 7.19
Chapter 8
Arjuna asks seven questions: what are Brahman, adhyatma, karma, adhibhuta and adhidaiva, who is the adhiyajna in this body, and how is Bhagwan known at death. Shri Bhagwan answers each. Brahman is the supreme Imperishable; its own nature is adhyatma; the offering that brings beings forth is karma; perishable existence is adhibhuta; the Purusha is adhidaiva; and He Himself, in the body, is the adhiyajna. Whatever one remembers at the last moment, to that one goes, so Arjuna must remember Him at all times and fight. The yogi who departs uttering Om, the one-syllabled Brahman, with prana held between the brows, reaches the highest goal. All worlds up to Brahmaloka return, but one who reaches Him is not born again. Brahma's day is a thousand yugas, his night as long; beings arise at his dawn and dissolve at his nightfall. Beyond that unmanifest is an eternal Unmanifest, His supreme abode. Of the bright path and the dark, one leads beyond return, the other back to birth.
From the textअन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् । यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः
Whoever leaves the body at the hour of death remembering Me alone attains My being. Of this there is no doubt.Bhagavad Gita 8.5
From the textतस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च । मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम्
Therefore remember Me at all times, and fight. With mind and intellect offered to Me, you will surely come to Me.Bhagavad Gita 8.7
From the textअनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः । तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः
Partha, for the yogi who remembers Me constantly, every day, with a mind that turns to nothing else, ever united with Me, I am easy to reach.Bhagavad Gita 8.14
Chapter 9
Shri Bhagwan calls this teaching the king of sciences and the king of secrets: pure, directly experienced, easy to practise, imperishable. In His unmanifest form He pervades the world; all beings rest in Him as the wind rests in space, yet He is not held by them. At the end of a kalpa beings enter His prakriti, and at the next He sends them forth, sitting as one indifferent, unbound by the act. The deluded scorn Him in human form; the mahatmas worship Him with undivided minds, chanting His name with firm vows. He is the yajna, the mantra, the ghee, the fire and the oblation; father, mother and grandsire of the world; Om and the three Vedas. Those who reach heaven by Vedic rites return when their merit is spent. For those who think of Him alone, He carries what they lack and guards what they have. A leaf, a flower, a fruit or water offered with love, He accepts. Even one of very bad conduct who worships Him alone is a sadhu, for His devotee never perishes.
From the textअनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते । तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम्
Those who think of Me alone and worship Me, ever devoted, for them I Myself bring what they lack and preserve what they have.Bhagavad Gita 9.22
From the textपत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति । तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः
Whoever offers Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering of love from one pure of heart I accept.Bhagavad Gita 9.26
From the textयत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् । यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम्
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in the fire, whatever you give, whatever tapas you undertake, Kaunteya, do it as an offering to Me.Bhagavad Gita 9.27
From the textमन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु । मामेवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानं मत्परायणः
Fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, bow down to Me. Uniting yourself thus, with Me as your highest aim, you will come to Me.Bhagavad Gita 9.34
Chapter 10
Bhagwan Shri Krishna speaks again, out of love for Arjuna. Neither the devas nor the great rishis know His origin, for He is the source of them all; the seven rishis and the four Manus were born from His mind. Every quality in beings, from forgiveness to fear, comes from Him alone. Those who fix their hearts on Him, speak of Him to one another and find joy in it, receive from Him the yoga of understanding, and He lights the lamp of knowledge within them. Arjuna declares Him the Supreme Brahman, as Narada, Asita, Devala and Vyasa had said, and asks how he should think of Him. Bhagwan then names His chief glories: Vishnu among the Adityas, the Samaveda among the Vedas, Shankara among the Rudras, Om among words, the Himalaya among things that stand, the Ganga among rivers, Vasudeva among the Vrishnis. There is no end to them. Whatever is glorious, beautiful or mighty is born of a spark of His splendour, and He holds the whole universe with a single fraction of Himself.
From the textअहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते । इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विताः
I am the source of all; from Me everything moves. Knowing this, the wise worship Me with their whole heart.Bhagavad Gita 10.8
From the textतेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूर्वकम् । ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते
To those who are ever devoted and worship Me with love, I give the yoga of understanding by which they come to Me.Bhagavad Gita 10.10
From the textअहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः । अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एव च
I am the Self, Gudakesha, seated in the heart of every being. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.Bhagavad Gita 10.20
From the textयद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा । तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं मम तेजोंऽशसंभवम्
Whatever being is glorious, prosperous or mighty, know that it has sprung from a mere spark of My splendour.Bhagavad Gita 10.41
Chapter 11
Arjuna says his delusion is gone and asks to see Bhagwan's divine form with his own eyes. Shri Krishna gives him divine sight, for no human eye can bear it. Sanjaya tells Dhritarashtra what Arjuna saw: a form with countless faces, eyes, arms and weapons, brighter than a thousand suns rising together, holding the whole universe in one place. Arjuna, his hair standing on end, sees Brahma on the lotus, the rishis and the devas within that body, and then sees the sons of Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, Drona and Karna rushing into its blazing mouths like moths into fire. Shaken, he asks who this is. Bhagwan answers, 'I am Time, the destroyer of worlds'; the warriors are already slain by Him, and Arjuna is only the instrument. Arjuna bows again and again, begs forgiveness for having treated Him as a friend, and asks to see the four-armed form. Bhagwan shows it, then His gentle human form, and declares that neither Vedas, yajna, charity nor tapas can win this vision. Only undivided bhakti can.
From the textदिवि सूर्यसहस्रस्य भवेद्युगपदुत्थिता । यदि भाः सदृशी सा स्याद्भासस्तस्य महात्मनः
If the light of a thousand suns were to blaze forth in the sky at once, it might perhaps resemble the splendour of that Mahatma.Bhagavad Gita 11.12
From the textकालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः । ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः
I am Time, grown mighty, the destroyer of worlds, come forth here to gather up the worlds. Even without you, none of these warriors arrayed in the opposing ranks will survive.Bhagavad Gita 11.32
From the textतस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व जित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम् । मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन्
Therefore rise up and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They have already been slain by Me. Be only the instrument, Savyasachin.Bhagavad Gita 11.33
From the textभक्त्या त्वनन्यया शक्य अहमेवंविधोऽर्जुन । ज्ञातुं द्रष्टुं च तत्त्वेन प्रवेष्टुं च परंतप
But by undivided bhakti, Arjuna, I can be known in this way, seen in truth and entered into, Parantapa.Bhagavad Gita 11.54
Chapter 12
Arjuna asks which worshippers know yoga best: those devoted to Bhagwan in His form, or those who worship the imperishable, unmanifest Brahman. Shri Krishna answers that those who fix their minds on Him with supreme faith are the most united with Him. The seekers of the unmanifest also reach Him, but their path is harder, for embodied beings attain the formless only with great difficulty. For those who give all their actions to Him and meditate on Him alone, He is the one who lifts them quickly out of the ocean of death and samsara. Then He gives a ladder of practice: fix the mind on Him; if not, practise; if not, work for Him; if not, give up the fruits of action. Giving up the fruit brings peace at once. The chapter closes with the marks of the devotee dear to Him: free of hatred, friendly and compassionate, the same in honour and insult, content with whatever comes, steady in mind.
From the textमय्यावेश्य मनो ये मां नित्ययुक्ता उपासते । श्रद्धया परयोपेतास्ते मे युक्ततमा मताः
Those who fix their minds on Me and worship Me, ever steadfast and endowed with supreme faith, I consider the most perfect in yoga.Bhagavad Gita 12.2
From the textमय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय । निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशयः
Fix your mind on Me alone; let your understanding rest in Me. Then you will dwell in Me alone hereafter. Of this there is no doubt.Bhagavad Gita 12.8
From the textअद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च । निर्ममो निरहंकारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी
He who hates no being, who is friendly and compassionate, free from the sense of 'mine' and from ego, even in pain and pleasure, and forgiving,Bhagavad Gita 12.13
From the textये तु धर्म्यामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते । श्रद्दधाना मत्परमा भक्तास्तेऽतीव मे प्रियाः
But those who, full of faith and holding Me as the highest, follow this immortal dharma as I have taught it, those devotees are exceedingly dear to Me.Bhagavad Gita 12.20
Chapter 13
Shri Krishna names the body the kshetra, the field, and the one who knows it the kshetrajna, the knower of the field. Then he says plainly that he himself is the knower in every field, and that true knowledge is knowing the two apart. He lists what makes up the field: the five great elements, ego, intellect, the unmanifest, the ten senses and the mind, their objects, desire, aversion, pleasure, pain and the rest. He lists what knowledge looks like in a person: humility, freedom from pretence, non-violence, patience, service of the guru, purity, steady devotion to him, and a liking for quiet places. He describes Brahman, the one thing worth knowing, beginningless, with hands and eyes everywhere, beyond the senses yet lighting them. Prakriti and Purusha are both without beginning; Prakriti does, Purusha experiences. The one who sees the Supreme Lord standing alike in every being, untouched as the sky is untouched, sees as it is and goes to the highest.
From the textक्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत । क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम
Know me also as the knower of the field in all fields, Bharata. Knowledge of the field and its knower: that, in my view, is true knowledge.Bhagavad Gita 13.2
From the textसर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् । सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति
Its hands and feet are everywhere, its eyes, heads and faces everywhere, its ears everywhere in the world. It stands enveloping all.Bhagavad Gita 13.13
From the textसमं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् । विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं यः पश्यति स पश्यति
One who sees the Supreme Lord standing alike in all beings, the undying within the dying, he alone sees.Bhagavad Gita 13.27
From the textयथा प्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः । क्षेत्रं क्षेत्री तथा कृत्स्नं प्रकाशयति भारत
As the one sun lights up this whole world, so the Lord of the field lights up the whole field, Bharata.Bhagavad Gita 13.33
Chapter 14
Shri Krishna opens with the highest of all knowledge, the knowledge by which the munis reached perfection and are no longer born at creation nor shaken at dissolution. The great Prakriti is his womb; he places the seed in it, and he is the father who gives the seed to every form in every womb. Three gunas born of Prakriti bind the embodied one. Sattva is clear and full of light, and binds through attachment to happiness and knowledge. Rajas is passion, born of craving, and binds through attachment to action. Tamas is born of ignorance and binds through carelessness, sloth and sleep. Each overpowers the others in turn, and each shows its signs in the body and mind; each also decides where a soul goes at death. Arjuna asks how one who has gone beyond the gunas lives. Krishna answers: he is even in pain and pleasure, praise and blame, honour and dishonour, and serves Bhagwan with unswerving devotion. Bhagwan is the ground of Brahman.
From the textसत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसंभवाः । निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम्
Sattva, rajas and tamas: these gunas born of Prakriti bind the imperishable embodied one in the body, mighty-armed one.Bhagavad Gita 14.5
From the textनान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति । गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति
When the seer beholds no doer other than the gunas, and knows that which is beyond the gunas, he attains my being.Bhagavad Gita 14.19
From the textमां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते । स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते
One who serves me with the yoga of unswerving devotion goes beyond these gunas and becomes fit to be one with Brahman.Bhagavad Gita 14.26
From the textब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च । शाश्वतस्य च धर्मस्य सुखस्यैकान्तिकस्य च
For I am the ground of Brahman, of the immortal and imperishable, of eternal dharma and of perfect bliss.Bhagavad Gita 14.27
Chapter 15
Shri Krishna speaks of the ashvattha, the sacred pipal of samsara, with its roots above and its branches below. The Vedic hymns are its leaves, and whoever knows this tree knows the Veda. Its branches spread up and down, fed by the gunas, budding into sense objects, and its roots run down into the world of men, binding them to action. Cut it down with the strong axe of detachment, he says, and seek the place from which there is no return, taking refuge in the primal Purusha. There neither sun nor moon nor fire gives light; that is his supreme abode. The jiva in every body is his own eternal portion, carrying the senses from body to body as the wind carries scent. He is the light in sun, moon and fire, the soma that feeds the plants, the digestive fire in every creature, and he dwells in every heart. Beyond the perishable and the imperishable stands Purushottama, the Supreme Person, the one to be known by all the Vedas.
From the textऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् । छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित्
They speak of an imperishable ashvattha tree with its roots above and its branches below. The Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows it knows the Veda.Bhagavad Gita 15.1
From the textममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः । मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति
An eternal portion of my own becomes the jiva in the world of living beings. It draws to itself the five senses, with the mind as the sixth, which rest in Prakriti.Bhagavad Gita 15.7
From the textसर्वस्य चाहं हृदि संनिविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च । वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम्
I am seated in the heart of all. From me come memory, knowledge and their loss. I alone am to be known by all the Vedas; I am the maker of Vedanta and the knower of the Veda.Bhagavad Gita 15.15
From the textयस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः । अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः
Because I am beyond the perishable and higher even than the imperishable, I am known in the world and in the Veda as Purushottama.Bhagavad Gita 15.18
Chapter 16
Shri Krishna names two kinds of nature a person may be born with. The divine wealth comes first: fearlessness, a clean heart, steadiness in knowledge, charity, self-control, yajna, study of the Veda, austerity, straightness, non-violence, truth, freedom from anger, compassion for all beings, modesty, forgiveness, patience and purity. This wealth leads to liberation. The demoniac wealth is hypocrisy, arrogance, pride, anger, harshness and ignorance, and it binds. Bhagwan tells Arjuna not to grieve, for he is born to the divine. He then describes the asuric mind at length: it denies any Ishvara behind the world, lives only for desire, piles up wealth by wrong means, and says 'I have this today, I shall have that tomorrow; I am the lord, I am the enjoyer.' Such people fall birth after birth into lower wombs. Desire, anger and greed are the three gates of hell, and a person freed from them walks to the highest goal. The chapter closes on a plain rule: let the Shastra be your authority in deciding what to do and what to leave.
From the textतेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचमद्रोहो नातिमानिता । भवन्ति संपदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत
Radiance, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from malice and from excessive pride: these, O Bharata, belong to one born with the divine wealth.Bhagavad Gita 16.3
From the textदैवी संपद्विमोक्षाय निबन्धायासुरी मता । मा शुचः संपदं दैवीमभिजातोऽसि पाण्डव
The divine wealth is held to lead to liberation, and the demoniac to bondage. Do not grieve, O Pandava; you are born with the divine wealth.Bhagavad Gita 16.5
From the textत्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः । कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत्
Threefold is the gate of hell that destroys the self: desire, anger and greed. Therefore one should give up these three.Bhagavad Gita 16.21
From the textतस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ । ज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुमिहार्हसि
Therefore let the Shastra be your authority in deciding what should be done and what should not. Knowing what the Shastra ordains, you should do your work here.Bhagavad Gita 16.24
Chapter 17
Arjuna asks about those who set aside the scriptural rule yet worship with faith: is their standing sattvic, rajasic or tamasic? Shri Krishna answers that every embodied being's shraddha follows its own nature, and a person is made of faith; as the faith is, so is the person. The sattvic worship the Devas, the rajasic worship yakshas and rakshasas, and the tamasic worship ghosts and spirits. Those who torment the body with fierce austerities the Shastra does not prescribe, driven by show and ego, are called asuric in resolve. Bhagwan then sorts four things by the three gunas: food, yajna, tapas and dana. Tapas is set out as threefold too, of body, of speech and of mind; truthful, pleasant and helpful speech is the tapas of speech. The chapter ends with Om Tat Sat, the threefold name of Brahman. Om begins every act of the knowers of Brahman, Tat marks acts done without seeking fruit, and Sat names what is good and true. Whatever is offered, given or endured without faith is called asat, of no use here or hereafter.
From the textसत्त्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत । श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः
The faith of each person, O Bharata, is in keeping with their inner nature. A person is made of faith; whatever one's faith is, that indeed one is.Bhagavad Gita 17.3
From the textअनुद्वेगकरं वाक्यं सत्यं प्रियहितं च यत् । स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैव वाङ्मयं तप उच्यते
Speech that causes no distress, that is true, pleasant and beneficial, and the regular practice of reciting the scriptures, are called the austerity of speech.Bhagavad Gita 17.15
From the textदातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे । देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम्
A gift given because giving is a duty, to one who can do nothing in return, at the right place and time and to a worthy person, is held to be sattvic.Bhagavad Gita 17.20
From the textॐतत्सदिति निर्देशो ब्रह्मणस्त्रिविधः स्मृतः । ब्राह्मणास्तेन वेदाश्च यज्ञाश्च विहिताः पुरा
Om Tat Sat: this is remembered as the threefold name of Brahman. By it the Brahmanas, the Vedas and the yajnas were ordained in the beginning.Bhagavad Gita 17.23
Chapter 18
Arjuna asks how sannyasa differs from tyaga. Shri Krishna answers that yajna, dana and tapas must never be dropped, for they purify even the wise; what goes is attachment and the wish for fruit. Every action has five causes, the fifth being daiva, the unseen. One who sees the Self as the sole doer does not see rightly. Knowledge, action, doer, understanding, steadiness and happiness are each sorted by the gunas, and the duties of Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra are shown to rise from the gunas of one's own nature. Worshipping Bhagwan through one's own work, a person reaches perfection; one's own dharma, even done imperfectly, is better than another's done well. Bhagwan then gives His most secret word: fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, give up all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone; I shall free you from all sins, do not grieve. Arjuna's delusion is gone. Sanjaya, who heard it all by Vyasa's grace, ends: where Krishna and Partha stand, there are fortune, victory and prosperity.
From the textश्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्
Better is one's own dharma, though lacking in merit, than the dharma of another well performed. Doing the work set by one's own nature, one incurs no sin.Bhagavad Gita 18.47
From the textईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति । भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया
Ishvara dwells in the heart of all beings, O Arjuna, turning them all by His maya, as if mounted on a machine.Bhagavad Gita 18.61
From the textमन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु । मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे
Fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, bow down to Me. You will come to Me alone; I promise you in truth, for you are dear to Me.Bhagavad Gita 18.65
From the textसर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज । अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः
Giving up all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone. I shall free you from all sins; do not grieve.Bhagavad Gita 18.66
इति
The pictures are drawn for this site to help children and new readers follow the story; they are illustrations, not old art. The words under each picture summarise the episode, and the verses are quoted from the text with their reference.