Bhagavad Gita 7.28
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 28 of 30
येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम् | ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः ||२८||
yeṣāṃ tv anta-gataṃ pāpaṃ janānāṃ puṇya-karmaṇām | te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṃ dṛḍha-vratāḥ || 28 ||
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Word by word (3)
- yeṣāṃ tu anta-gataṃ pāpam janānāṃ puṇya-karmaṇām
- — those persons whose sin has come to an end — those of virtuous deeds · yeṣāṃ = of whom (genitive plural — 'those in whom the following condition has occurred'). tu = but (contrastive to V27's universal delusion — now the exception). anta-gataṃ = come to an end (anta = end; gata = gone to, arrived at; anta-gata = having gone to the end, having been exhausted/ended). pāpaṃ = sin, demerit (pāpa = the accumulated weight of wrong action — the karma of non-dharmic acts that maintains the conditions of delusion). janānāṃ = of persons. puṇya-karmaṇām = of those with virtuous deeds (puṇya = merit, virtue; karma = action; puṇya-karma = virtuous action; puṇya-karmaṇāṃ = of those whose actions are virtuous). The qualifying description: these are persons in whom the pāpa (sin/demerit) has been exhausted (anta-gata) through accumulated puṇya-karma (virtuous action). This describes the fruit of sustained ethical and spiritual practice: the accumulated non-dharmic action that maintained the conditions of dvandva-moha has been worked through.
- te dvandva-moha-nirmuktāḥ bhajante māṃ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
- — they, freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship Me with firm resolve · te = they (those just described). dvandva-moha-nirmuktāḥ = freed from the delusion of pairs of opposites (dvandva = pairs; moha = delusion; nirmukta = freed from — nir = without; mukta = liberated — so nirmukta = fully released from). bhajante = worship (the bhakti root from √bhaj). māṃ = Me. dṛḍha-vratāḥ = with firm resolve (dṛḍha = firm, strong, steady; vrata = vow, resolve, determination — dṛḍha-vrata = one whose resolve is firm). V28 describes the transition from V27's universal condition (all beings deluded at birth) to the exceptional condition (some beings freed from dvandva-moha and worshipping with firm resolve). The liberation from dvandva-moha is described as a consequence of pāpa's exhaustion through puṇya-karma — not as a direct spiritual achievement but as the natural clearing that occurs when the accumulated non-dharmic karma has been worked through.
- dvandva-moha-nirmukta — the specific condition that enables genuine worship
- — freedom from the delusion of pairs of opposites — the prerequisite for dṛḍha-vrata worship of the Supreme · V28's dvandva-moha-nirmukta (freed from the delusion of pairs) is the direct reversal of V27's dvandva-moha (the universal condition). The contrast: V27 — all beings at birth fall into dvandva-moha; V28 — those whose pāpa has ended through puṇya-karma are freed from dvandva-moha. The freedom is not a suppression of desire and aversion (the dvandvas themselves) but liberation from the MOHA (delusion/confusion) they produce: the dvandva-moha-nirmukta can experience pleasure and pain, attraction and repulsion, without losing sight of the ground in which these arise. The dvandvas are experienced but no longer produce the delusion that veils the Divine. This is the state of equanimity (sama sukha-duḥkha of V6.7) at its full development: not indifference but grounded presence with the dvandvas.
But those of virtuous deeds, whose sin has come to an end, freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship Me with firm resolve.
A modern analogy
Someone who has worked through years of accumulated psychological patterns — through therapy, practice, honest relationship — reaches a point where they no longer automatically react from those patterns. They can still experience the patterns but are not defined by them. This verse's dvandva-moha-nirmukta (freedom from the delusion of the pairs of opposites) is this point applied to the spiritual dimension: the accumulated karma of wrong action has been worked through; the dvandva-structure no longer dominates; worship can be genuine and stable.
What it does NOT mean
This verse does NOT say that only those with perfect moral records can worship the Divine. 'Sin come to an end' (anta-gataṃ pāpaṃ) refers to the accumulated karma of non-dharmic action being worked through — it is a process, not a threshold test. This verse describes the condition of those whose practice has sufficiently cleared the accumulated non-dharmic residue that dvandva-moha (the delusion of the pairs) no longer dominates. It is a description of progress, not a gatekeeping requirement.
Take with you
- This verse's puṇya-karma (virtuous action) path: the clearing of dvandva-moha (the delusion of the pairs of opposites) is not achieved by direct suppression of desire and aversion but by the sustained practice of virtuous action — karma yoga's method of gradually working through the accumulated non-dharmic karma. Each dharmic action, each act of karma yoga, contributes to this verse's anta-gataṃ pāpaṃ (exhaustion of sin).
- This verse's dṛḍha-vrata (firm resolve) is the quality of worship that becomes possible when dvandva-moha (the delusion of the pairs) has loosened: worship no longer blown about by the waves of desire and aversion, preference and avoidance. The resolve is firm because the dvandva-structure no longer continually disrupts it.
- This verse invites a check: is my spiritual practice characterized by dṛḍha-vrata (firm resolve) or by dvandva-driven fluctuation (determined when things are going well, absent when they are not)? If the latter, the delusion of the pairs — the dvandva-moha that arises in all beings at birth from desire and aversion — is operative. The path: more puṇya-karma, more ethical action, more karma yoga — clearing the residue gradually.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
Those persons of virtuous deeds whose sins have come to an end — they, freed from the delusion of pairs of opposites, worship Me with firm resolve. [1]
Those men of virtuous deeds, whose sin has come to an end — they, freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship Me with firm resolve. [4]
But those of virtuous deeds in whom sin hath come to an end, freed from the delusion of the Pairs of Opposites, steadfast in vows they worship Me. [5]
Those men of virtuous actions who are free from sin, and freed from the delusion arising from the pairs of contraries — these worship me with firm resolution. [6]
But they who act well, Pritha's Son, freed from the pairs of opposites and sin, know Me — they are fixed on Me and steadfastly will serve Me. [7]
But those men of virtuous deeds whose sins have come to an end, and who are freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship me with firm resolve. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
All beings fall into complete delusion at birth — through the dvandva-moha arising from desire and aversion.
Taking refuge in Me for liberation from old age and death — they know Brahman, Adhyātma, and all of Karma.
The self-conquered yogi finds the Supreme Self equally present through cold, heat, joy, pain, honour and dishonour.
Do My work, hold Me supreme, be My devotee, attachment-free, without enmity toward all — such a one comes to Me!
This knowledge, more secret than all secrets, has been declared to you — reflect on it fully and act as you wish.
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
Verse 28 of 30 · back to Chapter 7