Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 71

Chapter 18 – Moksha Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

श्रद्धावाननसूयश्च शृणुयादपि यो नरः ।
सोऽपि मुक्तः शुभाँल्लोकान्प्राप्नुयात्पुण्यकर्मणाम् ॥

Transliteration

śraddhāvānanasūyaśca śṛṇuyādapi yo naraḥ .
so.api muktaḥ śubhā.Nllokānprāpnuyātpuṇyakarmaṇām ॥

Meaning

And even one who merely listens to it with faith and without finding fault, he too, freed from sin, shall attain the auspicious worlds of the righteous.

Word meanings

श्रद्धावान् – full of faith
अनसूयः – free from fault-finding
च – and
शृणुयात् – listens
अपि – even
यः – who
नरः – a person
सः – he
अपि – too
मुक्तः – freed (from sin)
शुभान् – auspicious
लोकान् – worlds
प्राप्नुयात् – shall attain
पुण्यकर्मणाम् – of those of righteous deeds

Anvaya (word order)

यः नरः श्रद्धावान् अनसूयः च (सन्) शृणुयात् अपि, सः अपि मुक्तः (सन्) पुण्यकर्मणां शुभान् लोकान् प्राप्नुयात् ।

Explanation

Yet another level of the Lord's compassion is revealed in this verse. Earlier he praised the teacher of the Gita (18.68–69) and its student (18.70). But not everyone can teach or study — some may be unlettered, some may lack time, some may not know Sanskrit. For such people Krishna says: shrinuyad api — even if he merely listens, he too will receive its fruit.

But listening has two conditions. The first is shraddhavan — being full of faith. Faith here does not mean blind belief but the feeling 'this contains the truth of my welfare' — a receptive, open heart. The second is anasuya — being free from fault-finding. One who keeps looking for flaws in the Lord or the teaching, even while listening, listens in vain. These two conditions are the exact opposites of the 'non-devotee' and the 'fault-finder' of 18.67.

The fruit is so 'pi muktah shubhan lokan prapnuyat punya-karmanam — he too, freed from sin, shall attain the auspicious worlds of the righteous. Shankara says 'freed' here means freed from sin, and that such a person reaches the worlds of those who perform meritorious rites such as the agnihotra. This fruit differs from 18.68's 'he will come to me': the teacher attains the Lord, while the faithful listener attains auspicious worlds. It is a gradation of fruit according to the depth of practice.

Even so, the verse is full of hope. The Gita's beneficent power is not confined to scholars. An ordinary person who listens to the Gita with faith and an open heart is also purified. That is why the tradition of Gita discourses and recitation has continued in temples and homes for centuries.

Context

The previous verse called the study of the Gita a sacrifice of knowledge. This verse says that even one who simply listens with faith receives an auspicious fruit. In the next verse (18.72) Krishna asks Arjuna whether he has heard all this with a focused mind and whether his delusion is destroyed.

Life lesson

Listen to what is good with faith and an open heart — listening is itself a spiritual practice. While listening, seek to receive the truth rather than to find faults. The door of wisdom is open to all, scholar and ordinary person alike.

Key terms

Shraddhavan: Full of faith and receptivity
Anasuya: Free from fault-finding and envy
Shravana: Listening with faith
Worlds of the righteous: Auspicious realms attained by the virtuous