Bhagavad Gita 4.38
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 38 of 42
न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते । तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति ॥
na hi jñānena sadṛśaṃ pavitram iha vidyate | tat svayaṃ yoga-saṃsiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati ||
Nothing in this world purifies like jñāna. The karma-yogi finds it within themselves in time.
Word by word (3)
- na hi jñānena sadṛśam pavitram iha vidyate
- — there is nothing whatsoever equal to knowledge as a purifier in this world · Na hi = there is not indeed (hi = emphatic particle of assurance — absolutely not). Jñānena = to knowledge (instrumental of comparison). Sadṛśam = equal to, similar (sa = same + dṛśa = appearance = 'same-appearing'). Pavitram = purifier (from pav = to purify — the thing that purifies). Iha = here, in this world. Vidyate = is found (passive of vid). The absolute statement: in the entire world of human experience, nothing equals knowledge as a purifier. Bar none.
- tat svayam yoga-saṃsiddhaḥ kālena ātmani vindati
- — that knowledge the karma-yoga-perfected person finds within themselves in time · Tat = that (the jñāna just described). Svayam = by themselves, spontaneously, within themselves. Yoga-saṃsiddha = perfected/ripened through yoga (yoga = the practice; saṃsiddha = thoroughly perfected, from sam+sidh = to be completely accomplished). Kālena = in time (instrumental — through the passage of time that ripens the practice). Ātmani = in the Self/within themselves. Vindati = finds, discovers (from vid = to find, to discover). The extraordinary message: jñāna is not externally obtained; it ripens within through yoga-practice and time.
- yoga-saṃsiddhaḥ kālena ātmani vindati — the self-revelation of jñāna
- — the practice-perfected one finds it within — jñāna is discovered, not imported · The combination of svayam (by themselves) + ātmani (in the Self) + vindati (finds/discovers) is philosophically precise: jñāna is not a foreign object to be acquired from outside but a recognition that arises within as the practitioner ripens. Kālena (in time) — the ripening cannot be forced; it has its own timing. But yoga-saṃsiddha (perfected through yoga) creates the conditions for the discovery.
There is nothing in this world equal to knowledge as a purifier. The one perfected through yoga finds it within themselves — in time.
A modern analogy
A river runs through different landscapes — gradually, the water itself becomes clearer as the terrain settles. Karma-yoga is the river that runs. Jñāna is what the river clarifies into — from within. Not imported from outside but revealed inside as the practice matures. Kālena (in time) — the discovery cannot be rushed but the practice creates the conditions.
Take with you
- Na hi jñānena sadṛśam pavitram — absolute: nothing equals jñāna as purifier. This is the culmination of the boat-and-fire imagery that came before — knowledge carrying you across all wrong and burning every karma to ash.
- Yoga-saṃsiddhaḥ: the karma-yogi who completes their practice — jñāna rises naturally from within that completion.
- Kālena (in time): the discovery has its own timing. Forcing the inner revelation produces false knowing. Ripen; do not force.
- Svayam ātmani vindati: finds within themselves — the seeker and the found are ultimately one place.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
There is indeed nothing equal to knowledge as purifier in this world. The man who is perfected in yoga finds it of himself in the Self in time. [1]
Verily there is no purifier in this world equal to knowledge. He who is perfected in yoga finds it, in time, in himself. [4]
There is no purifier in this world like wisdom; and one who is perfected in devotion finds it of himself in time in his own soul. [6]
Never the spirit was born; the spirit shall cease to be never. Nay, but as when one layeth His worn-out robes away... (V38 specifically: No purifier equal to knowledge exists; the yoga-perfected find it in themselves in time.) [7]
There is nothing in this world equal to knowledge for purifying. He who is perfected in yoga finds it of himself in time. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
As fire reduces wood to ash, so jñānāgni burns all karmas completely to ash.
Your right is to act — never to the fruits. Don't act for results. Don't hide in inaction.
Seeing inaction in action, action in inaction — that one is wise, a yogi, a complete doer of all actions.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.
However you approach Me — I respond in that same way. All human paths ultimately follow My path.
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.
Verse 38 of 42 · back to Chapter 4