Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verse 11

Chapter 3 – Karma Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः ।
परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ ॥

Transliteration

devānbhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ .
parasparaṃ bhāvayantaḥ śreyaḥ paramavāpsyatha ॥

Meaning

With this sacrifice, nourish the devas, and may the devas nourish you. Thus fostering one another, you shall attain the supreme good.

Word meanings

देवान् – the devas, divine powers
भावयत – nourish, foster
अनेन – by this
ते – they
देवाः – the devas
भावयन्तु – may nourish
वः – you
परस्परम् – one another
भावयन्तः – fostering
श्रेयः – welfare
परम् – supreme
अवाप्स्यथ – you shall attain

Anvaya (word order)

अनेन देवान् भावयत; ते देवाः वः भावयन्तु; परस्परं भावयन्तः परं श्रेयः अवाप्स्यथ ।

Explanation

Here is a beautiful principle of mutual nourishment. Human beings gratify the devas — the natural and divine powers such as water, wind, fire and sun — through sacrifice, and these powers in turn sustain humans with grain, rain and the sap of life. It is no one-way transaction but a stream flowing in both directions.

‘Parasparam bhavayantah’ is the key phrase: no one only gives and no one only takes. When nature and humanity strengthen each other, the world stays in balance, and from that balance ‘param shreyah’, the supreme good, becomes possible. Shankara says this welfare ultimately opens the door to the rise of knowledge.

For Ramanuja the devas are the body or limbs of the Supreme Being, so worship of them is truly worship of the Lord Himself. In modern terms the verse may be read as a call to ecological and social cooperation: what we draw from the earth, we are obliged to honour and replenish.

The verse is a cure for pride. No one is complete by his own strength; all of us are limbs of a vast interdependence.

Context

In 3.10 Prajapati called yajna a wish-fulfilling cow. Now 3.11 states the principle behind that arrangement — mutual nourishment between the devas and humans. Verse 3.12 will add that one who enjoys without returning is a thief.

Life lesson

Life flourishes by exchange. Be grateful for what you receive from nature, society and family, and give back; real prosperity lies in mutual nourishment.

Key terms

Deva: natural and divine powers — Agni, Vayu, Indra and others
Bhavana: nourishing, gratifying, uplifting
Shreyas: the supreme good