Bhagavad Gita 3.15
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 15 of 43
कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम् । तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
karma brahmodbhavaṃ viddhi brahmākṣara-samudbhavam | tasmāt sarva-gataṃ brahma nityaṃ yajñe pratiṣṭhitam ||
Action arises from Brahman, Brahman from the Imperishable. The all-pervading ultimate is present in every act of yajna.
Word by word (3)
- karma brahmodbhavam
- — know that action arises from Brahman · Brahmodbhava = arising from Brahman. The chain that began with action (V14) now reaches its ultimate source: action itself arises from Brahman — the ultimate reality. The chain is: Brahman → the eternal (Veda/Word) → karma → yajna → rain → food → beings. Brahman is both the source and the sustainer.
- brahmākṣara-samudbhavam
- — Brahman arises from the imperishable (akṣara) · Akṣara = imperishable, the syllable OM, the eternal. Brahman (here as Veda/cosmic law) arises from the akṣara — the primordial sound/imperishable reality. The entire chain is thus: akṣara (ultimate) → Brahman (cosmic order) → karma → yajna → all life.
- sarva-gataṃ brahma nityaṃ yajñe
- — the all-pervading Brahman is eternally established in yajna · Sarva-gata = all-pervading (going everywhere). Nityam = eternally, always. Pratiṣṭhitam = established, based. The profound statement: Brahman (ultimate reality) is eternally established in yajna. This means that when you act as yajna, you are not just following a rule — you are participating in the very nature of ultimate reality.
Know that action arises from Brahman (the cosmic order), and Brahman arises from the Imperishable (the Ultimate). Therefore, the all-pervading Brahman is eternally present in yajna.
A modern analogy
When you act with complete integrity and offering — in total alignment with your deepest nature — you touch something larger than yourself. Athletes call it 'the zone,' mystics call it 'grace,' scientists call it 'flow.' The Gita says: that experience is Brahman, which is eternally present when action becomes yajna.
Take with you
- Your actions are not small — they arise from and participate in the ultimate ground of reality.
- When action is yajna, it touches the infinite — which is why it produces liberation rather than bondage.
- The whole movement that began with action-as-offering, which does not bind, culminates here: yajna is not just ethics, it is the very nature of Brahman in action.
- This verse elevates every act of genuine giving to cosmic significance.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Know that action arises from Brahman, and Brahman arises from the Imperishable. Therefore the all-pervading Brahman is ever established in sacrifice. [1]
Know that action originates from Brahman, and Brahman proceeds from the Imperishable. Therefore the all-pervading Brahman is ever present in sacrifice. [4]
Know that action rises from the Eternal, and the Eternal springs from the Immutable. The all-pervading Brahman is therefore always present in sacrifice. [6]
All action comes of Brahm; Brahm springs from the Deathless; Therefore is the all-pervading Spirit lodged In sacrifice. [7]
Know that action proceeds from Brahman, and Brahman from the Imperishable. Therefore the all-pervading Brahman is always present in sacrifice. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Action → yajna → rain → food → all beings. Human right-action sustains the entire chain of life.
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.
I am in every heart — source of memory, knowledge, and forgetting; all Vedas point to Me, their author and knower.
Brahman is the Imperishable; Adhyātma is its presence in each body; Karma is the cosmic offering sustaining all beings.
Many forms of yajna spread through Brahman's mouth — all born of action. Knowing this, you will be freed.
Sattva-abiders go upward; rajasic dwell in the middle; tamas-abiders sink downward — the cosmic gradient.
Verse 15 of 43 · back to Chapter 3