Bhagavad Gita 4.37
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 37 of 42
यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन । ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ॥
yathaidhāṃsi samiddho 'gnir bhasmasāt kurute 'rjuna | jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute tathā ||
As fire reduces wood to ash, so jñānāgni burns all karmas completely to ash.
Word by word (3)
- yathā edhāṃsi samiddhaḥ agniḥ bhasmasāt kurute
- — just as kindled fire reduces fuel/wood to ash · Yathā = just as. Edhāṃsi = fuel, firewood (plural of edhas). Samiddha = well-kindled, blazing (sam+iddha = completely ignited, from indh = to kindle). Agni = fire. Bhasmasāt = to the state of ash (bhasma = ash + sāt = suffix meaning 'to the state of'). Kurute = makes/reduces (from kṛ). The precision of the image: samiddha (blazing, fully kindled) fire — not a smoldering fire but one that completely consumes.
- jñāna-agniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute tathā
- — so does the fire of knowledge reduce all karmas to ash · Jñāna-agni = the fire of knowledge (jñāna = wisdom/knowledge functioning as agni = fire). Sarva-karmāṇi = all karmas (not some — all). Bhasmasāt = to ash. Tathā = in that same way. The parallel is exact: wood/fuel = karmas; kindled fire = jñāna. Just as fire leaves nothing behind (bhasmasāt = reduced to pure ash, no trace of the original form), jñāna leaves no karma residue.
- bhasmasāt kurute / edhāṃsi
- — bhasmasāt kurute = reduces completely to ash (bhasma = ash; sāt = into the state of; bhasmasāt = ash-making; kurute = makes/does — the fire MAKES the wood into ash, it does not partially burn it); edhāṃsi = fuel/wood for fire (from edh = dry kindling, that which catches fire readily); samiddhaḥ agniḥ = the kindled/blazing fire (samiddha = fully kindled, blazing; not a smouldering fire but a fully fed blaze) — just as blazing fire completely converts fuel to ash leaving nothing, so jñānāgni leaves no karma-residue
Just as a blazing fire reduces wood to ash, O Arjuna, so the fire of knowledge reduces all karmas to ash.
A modern analogy
Burn a log: what was complex (grain, rings, bark, branches) becomes simple ash. Nothing of the original's complex structure survives — only the simplest residue. Jñānāgni, the fire of knowledge, burns the complex accumulated structure of karma — all the 'rings' of past actions and their residues — to the simplest state: pure ash. No bindable residue.
Take with you
- Samiddhaḥ agni (blazing fire): the fire of knowledge must be truly kindled — not smoldering. Partial understanding produces partial burning.
- Sarva-karmāṇi (all karmas): not selective burning — not 'some karma from this life.' All accumulated karma.
- Bhasmasāt kurute: ash has no structure, no form, no binding power. This is what jñāna produces — karma with no binding residue.
- This verse pairs with the boat image of the previous one: the boat floats over; the fire burns away — same teaching, two elemental images.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
As the blazing fire reduces wood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all karma to ashes. [1]
As a blazing fire reduces wood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all karma to ashes. [4]
As the kindled fire reduces wood to ashes, so the fire of wisdom reduces all actions to ashes. [6]
As the kindled fire reduces wood to ash, O Arjuna, so does the fire of wisdom reduce all karma to ash. [7]
As the fire, which is well-kindled, reduces wood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all karma to ashes. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Even the most sinful — the boat of knowledge carries you across all wrong. No sin is too great for jñāna.
All actions free from desire and intention; karmas burned by jñāna's fire — the wise call this one paṇḍita.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Your body changed from childhood to age without 'you' dying — changing bodies is no different.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Verse 37 of 42 · back to Chapter 4