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Ten Essential Verses of the Bhagavad Gt

Swami Dayananda Saraswati1

Introduction to the Gt

aocy

nanva

ocastva praj

vd

ca bh

ase |gatsnagatsca nnuocanti pait || 2-11||

tvam you; aocyn those who should not be grieved for; anvaoca grieve;

prajvdnwords of wisdom; bhaseyou speak; caand; pait the wise;

gatsnthose from whom the breath has left; agatsnthose from whom the breath

has not yet left; caand; na anuocantido not grieve

You grieve for those who should not be grieved for. Yet you

speak words of wisdom. The wise do not grieve for those who are

living or for those who are no longer living.

Nature of the Self(tvam)vedvinina nitya ya enamajamavyayam |

katha sa purua prtha ka ghtayati hanti kam || 2-21||

prthaOh! Son ofPth (Arjuna); enam this; avininam indestrutible; nityam

timeless; ajamunborn; avyayamthat which does not undergo decline;ya vedathe

one who knows; sathat;puruaperson; kathamhow; kamwhom; hantikills;

kamwhom; ghtayaticauses to destroy

Oh! Son of Pth, the one who knows this (self) to be

indestructible, timeless, unborn, and not subject to decline, how

and whom does that person kill? Whom does he cause to kill?prajahti yad kmnsarvnprtha manogatn |

tmanyevtman tua sthitaprajastadocyate || 2-55||

prthaOh! Son ofPth; yadwhen; sarvn all; manogatnas they appear in

the mind; kmndesires;prajahtigives up; tmaniin oneself; evaalone; tman

with oneself; tua one who is happy; tad then; sthitapraja a person of

ascertained knowledge; ucyateis said to be

When a person gives up all the desires as they appear in the mind,

Oh! Prtha, happy in oneself, with onself alone, that person is

said to be one of ascertained knowledge.

1 Translation and meaning from theBhagavadgt Home Study Course, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 1999.

For a detailed commentary on these verses, please refer to theBhagavadgt Home Study Coursebook.

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Nature ofvara (tat)

may tatamida sarva jagadavyaktamrtin |

matsthni sarvabhtni na cha tevavasthita || 9-4||

mayaby me; avyakta-mrtinwhose form can not be objectified; idam sarvamjagat

this entire world; tatam is pervaded; sarva-bhtniall beings; mat-sthnihave

their being in Me; na ca ahamand I am not; teu avasthitabased in them

This entire world is pervaded by Me whose form can not be

objectified. All beings have their being in Me and I am not based

in them.

The two-fold committed life-styles

lokesmin dvividh nih pur prokt maynagha |

jnayogena skhyn karmayogena yoginm || 3-3||

anaghaOh! Sinless One; asmin in this; lokeworld; dvividh two-fold; nihcommitted life-styles;purin the beginning; mayby me;proktwas told;jna-

yogena in the form of the pursuit of knowledge; skhyn for the renunciates;

karmayogena in the form of the pusuit of action; yoginm for those who pursueactivity

Oh! Sinless One, the two-fold committed life-style in this world,

was told by Me in the beginning the pursuit of knowledge for

the renunciates and the pursuit of action for those who pursue

activity.

Karma-yoga:vara is the author of the results of actionkarmayevdhikraste m phaleu kadcana |

m karmaphalaheturbhrm te sagostvakarmai || 2-47||

karmaiin action; evaonly; teyour; adhikrachoice; phaleuin the results;

m kadcananever; karma-phala-hetuthe cause of the results; m bhdo not be;

akarmaiin inaction; teyour; sagaattachment; m astulet it not be

Your choice is in action only, never in the result thereof. Do not

be the author of the results of action. Let your attachment not be

to inaction.

Karma-yoga: Doing ones duty is worshipping the lord

yata pravttirbhtn yena sarvamida tatam |

svakarma tamabhyarcya siddhi vindati mnava || 18-46||

yata from whom; bhtn pravtti (is) the creation of the beings; yena by

whom; sarvam idamall this; tatam is pervaded; tamhim; svakarma through

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ones own duty; abhyarcya worshipping; mnava the human being; siddhim

success; vindatigains

Through ones own duty, worshipping him from whom is the

creation of the beings, by whom all this is pervaded, a human

being gains success.Sannysa-yoga: vividi-sannysa

2

sannysastu mahbho dukhamptumayogata |

yogayukto munirbrahma naciredhigacchati || 5-6||

mahbhoO Mighty Armed! (Arjuna); ayogatawithout karma-yoga; sannysa

renunciation of action; ptumto accomplish; dukhamdifficult; tuwhereas;yoga-

yuktacommitted to the life ofkarma-yoga; munione who is capable of reasoning;

na cireanot after a long time (quickly); brahmaBrahman; adhigacchatigains

Renunciation of action, O Arjuna, is difficult to accomplish

without karma-yoga. Whereas, one who is capable of reasoning,who is committed to a life karma-yoga, gainsBrahman quickly.

Sannysa-yoga: jna-karma-sannysa3

sarvakarmi manas sannyasyste sukha va |

navadvre pure dehnaiva kurvanna krayan || 5-13||

vaone who is self-controlled; deh the indweller of the physical body; manas

mentally (by knowledge); sarva-karmi all actions; annyasya having renounced;

nava-dvre purein the nine-gated city (the body); evaindeed; nakurvannot acting;

na krayannot causing (others) to act; sukhamhappily; steremains

The indweller of the physical body, the one who is self-controlled,

having renounced all actions mentally (by knowledge), remains

happily in the nine-gated city (the body) neither performing

action, nor causing (others) to act.

sarvadharmnparityajya mmeka araa vraja |

aha tv sarvappebhyo mokyayiymi muca || 18-66||

sarva-dharmnall karmas; parityajya giving up; mm-ekaMe alone; araa

vrajatake refuge; sarva-ppebhyafrom all karmas; tvyou; ahammokyayiymi

I will release; muca - do not grieve

Giving up all karmas, take refuge in Me alone. I will release you

from all karma; do not grieve.

2Sannysa taken by a qualified seeker to know the self.3Sannysa, renunciation of all action by knowledge (jna) that the self is not the doer.