Chapter 4 of 18
ज्ञानकर्मसंन्यासयोग Jñāna Karma Sanyāsa Yoga The Lineage of Knowing
42 verses
Action, knowledge and Krishna himself all have a deeper structure than they appear to, and knowing it is what makes action free.
Chapter 4 opens with the Gita's only genealogy of itself — the sun to the first man to the founder of a royal line — and then immediately admits the chain broke. With the long passage of time, that yoga was lost. It is being spoken again because it went missing, which is an unusually honest thing for a scripture to say about its own transmission.
Arjuna notices the obvious problem: the man beside him has just claimed to have taught the sun. The answer he gets is the first thing Krishna says about himself rather than about action, and it does not resolve anything — unborn, imperishable, and coming into being.
Then the chapter's knot, which it warns you about in advance: even the wise are confused here. Inaction in action, and action in inaction. Everything after that is fire — actions burnt in the fire of knowledge, offerings poured by Brahman into Brahman, firewood turned to ash. Nothing is prevented in this chapter. Things are consumed as they happen.
And it ends on the same word chapter 2 ended on. Stand up — which was a rebuke there, and here, after forty verses of explanation, is something closer to an invitation.
इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम्
विवस्वान् मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत्
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣhvākave ’bravīt
I taught this imperishable yoga to Vivasvan; Vivasvan taught it to Manu; and Manu to Ikshvaku.
The chapter opens with a lineage.
Vivasvan to Manu to Ikshvaku — the sun, the first man, the founder of a royal line.
It is the Gita's only genealogy of itself, and it is a claim about transmission: this was not thought up, it was handed along. Which makes what 4.2 admits more striking.
Word by wordśhrī-bhagavān uvācha — the Supreme Lord Shree Krishna said · imam — this · vivasvate — to the Sun-god · yogam — the science of Yog · proktavān — taught · aham — I · avyayam — eternal · vivasvān — Sun-god · manave — to Manu, the original progenitor of humankind · prāha — told · manuḥ — Manu · ikṣhvākave — to Ikshvaku, first king of the Solar dynasty · abravīt — instructed
Chapter 4 · The Lineage of Knowing · ← → to move, d for depth
All 42 verses
The Blessed One said
- 4.5 बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन I know them all; you do not
- 4.6 अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् Unborn, and coming into being
- 4.7 यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत Whenever the right declines
- 4.8 परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् Age after age
- 4.9 जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः Knowing my birth and my work
- 4.10 वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः Purified by the fire of knowledge
- 4.11 ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् All paths are mine
- 4.12 काङ्क्षन्तः कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवताः Those who want results
- 4.13 चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः And I am not bound by it
- 4.14 न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा Actions do not stain me
- 4.15 एवं ज्ञात्वा कृतं कर्म पूर्वैरपि मुमुक्षुभिः So do your work as they did
- 4.16 किं कर्म किमकर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिताः Even the wise are confused
- 4.17 कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः The way of action is deep
- 4.18 कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः Inaction in action
- 4.19 यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः Burnt in the fire of knowledge
- 4.20 त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः Engaged, and accumulating nothing
- 4.21 निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः Only the action of the body
- 4.22 यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सरः Content with what comes unsought
- 4.23 गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः Action dissolves entirely
- 4.24 ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्महविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम् Brahman, five times over
- 4.25 दैवमेवापरे यज्ञं योगिनः पर्युपासते Two kinds of offering
- 4.26 श्रोत्रादीनीन्द्रियाण्यन्ये संयमाग्निषु जुह्वति The senses into restraint
- 4.27 सर्वाणीन्द्रियकर्माणि प्राणकर्माणि चापरे Into the fire kindled by knowledge
- 4.28 द्रव्ययज्ञास्तपोयज्ञा योगयज्ञास्तथापरे Possessions, austerity, study
- 4.29 अपाने जुह्वति प्राण प्राणेऽपानं तथाऽपरे Breath into breath
- 4.30 अपरे नियताहाराः प्राणान्प्राणेषु जुह्वति All of these know what it is
- 4.31 यज्ञशिष्टामृतभुजो यान्ति ब्रह्म सनातनम् For one who offers nothing
- 4.32 एवं बहुविधा यज्ञा वितता ब्रह्मणो मुखे All of them arise from action
- 4.33 श्रेयान्द्रव्यमयाद्यज्ञाज्ज्ञानयज्ञः परन्तप Knowledge is the better offering
- 4.34 तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया Bowing, asking, serving
- 4.35 यज्ज्ञात्वा न पुनर्मोहमेवं यास्यसि पाण्डव You will not fall into this again
- 4.36 अपि चेदसि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः Even the very worst
- 4.37 यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन Firewood into ash
- 4.38 न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते In time, and within
- 4.39 श्रद्धावाँल्लभते ज्ञानं तत्परः संयतेन्द्रियः Faith, and restraint
- 4.40 अज्ञश्चाश्रद्दधानश्च संशयात्मा विनश्यति No happiness for the doubting
- 4.41 योगसंन्यस्तकर्माणं ज्ञानसंछिन्नसंशयम् Actions do not bind
- 4.42 तस्मादज्ञानसंभूतं हृत्स्थं ज्ञानासिनाऽऽत्मनः Stand up
Where this sits
Chapter 4 against the whole of it: who is speaking, verse by verse, and how much of the book this chapter is.
The argument so far
- Chapter 1 Arjuna's nerve fails on the field, and the question that opens the book is not a spiritual one but a practical one he cannot answer.
- Chapter 2 The first answer is that Arjuna is not the body he is afraid of losing, and that grief for what cannot die is grief misplaced.
- Chapter 3 Withdrawing from action is not available to anyone alive; what is available is acting without gripping the result.