Bhagavad Gita 12.6
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 6 of 20
ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्पराः।अनन्येनैव योगेन मां ध्यायन्त उपासते ॥
ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi saṃnyasya matparāḥ|ananyenaiva yogena māṃ dhyāyanta upāsate ||
Offer all actions to Me alone, worship through undivided yoga — the mat-parāḥ hold Me as their supreme goal.
Word by word (3)
- ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya
- — those who, having surrendered all actions into Me · ye = who (relative pronoun introducing this category). tu = but/however — a contrastive pivot from V3-V5 (avyakta meditators). sarvāṇi karmāṇi = all actions, all works (sarva = all; karmāṇi = actions, plural of karma). mayi = in Me / into Me (locative of aham = I; here it means 'into Krishna as the receptacle and recipient of all action'). sannyasya = having renounced/surrendered (gerund of sam + ni + √as = to cast completely down; sannyāsa is literally 'complete laying-down'; here it is inner surrender, not monastic renunciation — the karma continues but the sense of doership and all fruit are cast into Krishna as a trust). The force: not partial surrender ('I'll give You the sacred acts but keep the rest'), but sarvāṇi — every action, from the ritual to the mundane, consecrated.
- mat-parāḥ
- — those who have Me as the Supreme (the mat-parāḥ) · mat = Me (genitive form of aham = I; here 'My' or 'of Me'). parāḥ = the supreme, the highest, the other shore (from √pṛ = to cross beyond; para = that which is beyond = the supreme, the ultimate). mat-para = one for whom 'Me' (Krishna) is the supreme goal — not a stepping stone to something beyond, not one means among many, but the ultimate. Plural: mat-parāḥ = those devotees (a class). This word names the devotee-type whose care Krishna takes up in V7: 'teṣām aham samuddhartā' — 'of THESE (mat-parāḥ), I am the deliverer.'
- ananyenaiva yogena māṃ dhyāyantaḥ upāsate
- — worship Me, meditating on Me, through undivided yoga alone · ananyena = not-other, undivided, exclusive (an = not; anya = other; ananya = without-other = not directed to any other; the bhakti is ananya because its object is only Krishna, not split between Krishna and liberation, or Krishna and another deity, or Krishna and worldly goals). eva = alone, precisely, exactly (emphatic particle reinforcing ananya). yogena = through yoga (instrumental: the mode is yoga; yoga here = the discipline of uniting the mind with its chosen object). māṃ = Me (accusative; the direct object of the meditation-worship). dhyāyantaḥ = meditating (present participle of √dhyai = to meditate, to hold steadily in the mind; dhyāyantaḥ = 'while meditating'). upāsate = worship (from upa + √ās = to sit near = to serve, approach, worship; 3rd plural present). The two verbs overlap deliberately: dhyāyantaḥ describes the inward act (meditation), upāsate the relational orientation (worship). Together: their whole life is an offering made in meditative attention to Krishna.
But those who surrender all their actions to Me, holding Me as the supreme, and worship Me, meditating on Me with undivided devotion —
A modern analogy
Like an athlete who doesn't just train hard but eats, plans, sleeps, thinks, and arranges every aspect of life around one pursuit — every action becomes part of the discipline. The mat-para devotee lives like that, but toward the Divine. Not because they have to, but because that IS their supreme joy.
Sit with this: This verse says those who hold Krishna as their supreme goal offer 'all' their actions to Him — not just sacred acts but everything. Does this make the practice harder (nothing is exempt) or easier (no sacred/secular division)? What would it feel like to live without that split?
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
[V6 missing from SH indexed] [1]
[V6 missing from SW indexed — SW appears to have combined V6-V7 in a single translation unit; use Ganguli and Telang as primary] [4]
But whereso any doeth all his deeds / Renouncing self for Me, full of Me, fixed / To serve only the Highest, night and day / Musing on Me [7]
As to those, however, O son of Pṛthā! who, dedicating all their actions to me, and (holding) me as their highest (goal), worship me, meditating on me with a devotion towards none besides me [9]
They (again) who, reposing all action on me (and) regarding me as their highest object (of attainment), worship me, meditating on me with devotion undirected to anything else [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
For those who worship Me with undivided thought, always steadfast — I carry what they lack and guard what they have.
Through undivided devotion alone can I be known, seen, and entered into — ananyā bhakti is the path, O Parantapa!
Abandon all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone — I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
Surrendering all actions to Brahman, abandoning attachment — like a lotus leaf, sin never clings.
Unable even to act for My sake? Then take refuge in Me, abandon all fruits of action — with self-restraint.
Equal in honor and disgrace, equal to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings — he has gone beyond guṇas.
Verse 6 of 20 · back to Chapter 12