Bhagavad Gita 3.14-15

Sanskrit

अन्नाद्भवन्ति भूतानि पर्जन्यादन्नसम्भवः । यज्ञाद्भवति पर्जन्यो यज्ञः कर्मसमुद्भवः ॥3.14॥कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम् । तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥3.15॥

Transliteration

annādbhavanti bhūtāni parjanyādannasambhavaḥ | yajñādbhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karmasamudbhavaḥ ‖3.14‖ karma brahmodbhavaṃ viddhi brahmākṣarasamudbhavam | tasmātsarvagataṃ brahma nityaṃ yajñe pratiṣṭhitam ‖3.15‖

Meaning

“From food beings come forth; from rain food is produced; from sacrifice comes rain; and sacrifice is born of action. Know action to arise from Brahman, and Brahman from the Imperishable. Therefore the all-pervading Brahman is eternally established in sacrifice.”

Key learning

Everything that keeps you alive comes through a long chain. You need food, food needs rain and soil, and all of it needs people doing their work. Your daily effort is one important link in that big chain, not a private little thing that only affects you.

How to apply this today

Trace where one meal really comes from: the farmer, the rain, the soil, the driver, the shopkeeper, the cook. Doing this with kids teaches gratitude better than a lecture. At work, notice who makes your job possible and who depends on what you do. Do this: follow the chain behind one everyday thing and notice your place in it.

Theme: The Yoga of Action

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

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