Bhagavad Gita 3.10-12

Sanskrit

सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः । अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥3.10॥देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः । परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ ॥3.11॥इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः । तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङ्क्ते स्तेन एव सः ॥3.12॥

Transliteration

sahayajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā purovāca prajāpatiḥ | anena prasaviṣyadhvameṣa vo'stviṣṭakāmadhuk ‖3.10‖ devānbhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ | parasparaṃ bhāvayantaḥ śreyaḥ paramavāpsyatha ‖3.11‖ iṣṭānbhogānhi vo devā dāsyante yajñabhāvitāḥ | tairdattānapradāyaibhyo yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ ‖3.12‖

Meaning

“Having created beings together with sacrifice, Prajapati said of old: ‘By this shall you prosper; let this be the cow of your desires.’ Nourish the gods with this, and may the gods nourish you; nourishing one another, you shall attain the highest good. Nourished by sacrifice, the gods will give you the enjoyments you desire. One who enjoys their gifts without offering to them in return is verily a thief.”

Key learning

Life works by giving and receiving. Everything you enjoy comes from systems you did not build yourself, like nature, family, schools, and society. If you keep taking from them but never give anything back, you are basically stealing. The healthy way is to keep the giving flowing in both directions.

How to apply this today

Look at the things that support you and ask if you give back. You use roads, free apps, teachers, and other people's effort, so contribute too, by mentoring, donating, or helping. In a family, don't only take support, also give it. Do this: pick one thing you rely on and give something back to it this week.

Theme: The Yoga of Action

This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3: Karma Yoga , read all verses in this chapter.

Read the full Bhagavad Gita

Teachmysoul gives you all 700 Gita verses with Sanskrit, plain-English meaning, a key learning and a practical application for daily life, a calm two-minute habit on web, iOS and Android.