4.37 Firewood into ash Krishna speaks

यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन
ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा

yathaidhānsi samiddho ’gnir bhasma-sāt kurute ’rjuna
jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasma-sāt kurute tathā

As a blazing fire turns firewood to ash, Arjuna, so the fire of knowledge turns all action to ash.

Explanation

Firewood into ash.

As a blazing fire turns wood to ash, so the fire of knowledge turns all action to ash.

The image has been building since 4.19. And note what it implies: the wood is not removed from the fire — it is what the fire consumes, which is why acting is never the problem.

Word by word

yathā: as
edhānsi: firewood
samiddhaḥ: blazing
agniḥ: fire
bhasma-sāt: to ashes
kurute: turns
arjuna: Arjun
jñāna-agniḥ: the fire of knowledge
sarva-karmāṇi: all reactions from material activities
bhasma-sāt: to ashes
kurute: it turns
tathā: similarly