Bhagavad Gītā
Verses from Krishna's teaching to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra — the most quoted Sanskrit text in the world.
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि-
न्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे॥The Self is never born — it never dies
The Self is never born; it never dies. It has not come into being, nor will it cease to be. Unborn, eternal, ever-existing, primeval — it is…
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥You have a right to the act — not to the fruit
You have a right to the act itself, never to the fruits of the act. Do not be motivated by the fruit, nor be attached to inaction.…
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते॥Evenness of mind is yoga
Perform your duties established in yoga, O Dhanañjaya, abandoning attachment. Be equal in success and in failure — this evenness of mind is …
दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः।
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते॥The sage unshaken in pleasure and pain
One whose mind is undisturbed in sorrow, who has no craving amid joys, and is free from attachment, fear and anger — that sage of steady wis…
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः॥Your own dharma, imperfectly — not another's, perfectly
Better is one's own dharma, imperfectly done, than another's dharma done perfectly. Even death in one's own dharma is better; another's dhar…
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्॥Whenever dharma declines — I come
Whenever there is a decline in dharma, Bhārata, and a rise in adharma, I manifest Myself.…
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे॥To protect the good — I appear in every age
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the re-establishment of dharma, I take birth age after age.…
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः॥Let a man raise himself by himself
Let one raise oneself by oneself; let one not lower oneself. For the self alone is the friend of the self, and the self alone is the enemy o…
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम्।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते॥The restless mind — by practice and detachment
Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed one, the mind is hard to control and restless; but by practice and by detachment, Kaunteya, it can be grasped.…