Bhagavad Gita 18.46
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 46 of 78
यतः प्रवृत्तिर् भूतानां येन सर्वम् इदं ततम् । स्वकर्मणा तम् अभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः ॥
yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṃ yena sarvam idaṃ tatam | svakarmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṃ vindati mānavaḥ ||
From whom all beings arise, by whom all is pervaded — worshiping THAT through one's own duty, one attains perfection.
Word by word (3)
- yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṃ yena sarvam idaṃ tatam
- — from whom (yataḥ = from which) is the arising/movement (pravṛttir = evolution/arising) of all beings (bhūtānām), by whom (yena = by which) all this (sarvam idam) is pervaded/spread (tatam = spread out, from tan = to spread) — two names of the Divine: the source of all arising + the substance that pervades all
- svakarmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṃ vindati mānavaḥ
- — by/through one's own duty/action (svakarmaṇā = svakarmana = by-one's-own-karma), worshiping (abhyarcya = fully-worshiping, from abhi + arc = to honor, worship) THAT (tam = Him, the Divine), a person (mānavaḥ = a human being) finds/attains (vindati) perfection (siddhim) — the HOW of V45's saṃsiddhi: svakarmā AS worship of the Source
- svakarmaṇā tam abhyarcya
- — worshiping THAT by one's own duty — this is the Gita's most concise synthesis: svadharma IS worship (pūjā/arcana) when offered to the Source. Not: do your duty AND separately worship God. But: your duty, done with awareness of the Source, IS your worship. This transforms every act of every varṇa into a sacred act — the farmer's plowing, the warrior's battle, the scholar's study, all become abhyarcana (worship) when oriented toward the Divine Source.
From whom is the arising of all beings, by whom all this is pervaded — worshiping Him through one's own duty, a person attains perfection.
A modern analogy
This verse is the key to the preceding promise of perfection. How does one's own duty lead to perfection? By becoming worship. The Gita's answer to 'how do I make my work spiritual?' is not 'do spiritual work' but 'do your work as worship of the Source.' The farmer who plows with awareness of the Source from whom all life arises is worshiping through that plowing. The warrior who protects with awareness of the one by whom all is pervaded is worshiping through that battle.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Him from whom is the evolution of all beings, by whom all this is pervaded — by worshipping Him with his proper duty, man attains perfection. [1]
From whom is the evolution of all beings, by whom all this is pervaded, worshipping Him with his own duty, a man attains perfection. [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
Him from whom are the movements of all beings, Him by whom all this is pervaded, worshiping him by the performance of one's own duty, one obtains perfection. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Krishna declares: 'I am the ground of Brahman — the Immortal, the Immutable, eternal Dharma, and perfect Bliss.'
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
This knowledge, more secret than all secrets, has been declared to you — reflect on it fully and act as you wish.
Brahman-become, serene, neither grieving nor desiring, equal to all beings — he attains supreme bhakti to Me.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
Rājasic buddhi: imperfectly/wrongly discerns dharma-adharma and kārya-akārya — not as they really are.
Verse 46 of 78 · back to Chapter 18