Bhagavad Gita 4.25
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 25 of 42
दैवमेवापरे यज्ञं योगिनः पर्युपासते । ब्रह्माग्नावपरे यज्ञं यज्ञेनैवोपजुह्वति ॥
daivam evāpare yajñaṃ yoginaḥ paryupāsate | brahmāgnāv apare yajñaṃ yajñenaivopajuhvati ||
Some offer to the gods as yajna. Others offer yajna itself into the fire of Brahman — the practice becomes the offering.
Word by word (3)
- daivam eva apare yajñam yoginaḥ paryupāsate
- — some yogis worship the yajna dedicated to the gods · Daivam = pertaining to the devas (gods/cosmic powers). Eva = alone, precisely. Apare = others (a common organizing word in V25-30 — 'others do this'). Yoginaḥ = yogis. Paryupāsate = they worship completely, they uphold (pari+upa+ās = to sit all around, to attend upon). This is the traditional Vedic fire sacrifice dedicated to the devas — the starting point of the yajna taxonomy.
- brahmāgnau apare yajñam yajñena eva upajuhvati
- — others offer yajna itself as oblation into the fire of Brahman · Brahmāgni = fire of Brahman (the highest fire — Brahman itself). Yajñena upajuhvati = they offer by means of yajna itself (yajña is both the instrument and the offering). The remarkable second type: the self offering itself into Brahman, the practice offering itself into the knowledge of Brahman. This is the jñāna-yajna — the sacrifice is not material but epistemic.
- apare ... apare — the organizing structure of V25-30
- — 'others do this' — a survey of spiritual approaches · The word 'apare' (others) appears throughout V25-30 as an organizing principle — Krishna surveys the full range of sincere spiritual practices as different forms of yajna. No hierarchy is imposed beyond V24's principle: all genuine offerings move toward Brahman.
Some yogis worship the gods through sacrifice. Others offer the sacrifice itself as an oblation into the fire of Brahman.
A modern analogy
A musician who plays a concert for the audience — that is the first type: offering to the gods (the recipients). A musician who plays until the music plays itself, until the musician disappears — that is the second type: the practice offering itself into the ground of being. Both are valid yajna.
Take with you
- The yajna taxonomy begins here: a respectful survey of different valid approaches, not a ranking.
- Daivam yajna = offering to the cosmic powers that sustain existence — the traditional Vedic approach.
- Brahmāgnau yajna = the practice itself offered into Brahman — the jñāna approach where the practitioner disappears.
- The preceding verse established what all yajna IS — that instrument, offering, fire, and act are all Brahman. This verse begins showing what different people DO.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Some yogins duly worship the gods by sacrifice; others offer sacrifice into the fire of Brahman by means of the sacrifice itself. [1]
Some yogins worship the gods alone as their sacrifice. Others offer sacrifice by sacrifice itself into the fire of Brahman. [4]
Some devotees sacrifice to the gods; others pour the sacrifice as sacrifice into the fire of Brahman. [6]
Some yogins make a sacrifice to the gods, While others offer sacrifice in the fire of Brahman itself. [7]
Some yogins worship gods as sacrifice; others offer sacrifice into the fire of Brahman by means of the sacrifice itself. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.
However you approach Me — I respond in that same way. All human paths ultimately follow My path.
All sense-actions, all vital-breath actions — offered into the fire of self-mastery yoga, kindled by knowledge.
Wealth, austerity, yoga, self-study, knowledge — all valid yajna for ascetics with sharpened vows.
The ego-apex: 'I am rich, well-born — who equals me? I'll sacrifice, give, rejoice.' — all deluded by ajñāna.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Verse 25 of 42 · back to Chapter 4