Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 19

Chapter 4 – Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः ।
ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः ॥

Transliteration

yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāmasaṅkalpavarjitāḥ .
jñānāgnidagdhakarmāṇaṃ tamāhuḥ paṇḍitaṃ budhāḥ ॥

Meaning

One whose every undertaking is free from desire and self-centred intent, and whose actions have been burnt in the fire of knowledge — such a person the wise call a sage.

Word meanings

यस्य – whose
सर्वे – all
समारम्भाः – undertakings, enterprises
कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः – free from desire and selfish intent
ज्ञानाग्नि – the fire of knowledge
दग्धकर्माणम् – him whose actions are burnt up
तम् – him
आहुः – call
पण्डितम् – a sage, a truly learned one
बुधाः – the wise

Anvaya (word order)

यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः, तं ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं बुधाः पण्डितम् आहुः ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna called one who sees inaction in action ‘wise’. Now He begins to describe such a person in detail, a description that runs up to 4.23. The first mark is: ‘yasya sarve samarambhah kama-sankalpa-varjitah’ — all of whose undertakings are free from desire and self-centred intent.

‘Kama’ is the desire for results; ‘sankalpa’ is the mental plan bound up with ego — ‘I shall do this, and from it I shall get that’. Shankara explains that sankalpa is the seed of desire: first the mind dwells on an object, then craving for it arises. The wise person does act — he is not idle — but his actions are done only for the welfare of the world or for the bare maintenance of the body, never out of personal craving.

‘Jnanagni-dagdha-karmanam’ — whose actions have been burnt in the fire of knowledge. It is a vivid image. Just as a seed that has been roasted in fire can no longer sprout, so knowledge of the Self destroys the binding power of action. The sage's actions are visible outwardly, but they no longer have the power to produce fruit and bind him. The same truth is stated even more strongly in 4.37.

Such a person, the ‘budhah’ — the wise — call a ‘pandita’. Here a pandita is not merely one who has studied scripture but one whose understanding is firmly established in the Self. True learning is not a store of words but a life free from craving and illumined by knowledge.

Context

In 4.18 Krishna called one who sees inaction in action and action in inaction truly wise. From here He describes the marks of such a sage — his actions are free from desire and burnt in the fire of knowledge. In the next verse (4.20) He says that one who has given up attachment to results does nothing even while acting.

Life lesson

Calculating ‘what will I get from this?’ in every task binds the mind. When we work in a spirit of duty and service, the same work no longer drains us; it leaves us lighter and brighter within.

Key terms

Samarambha: undertaking, enterprise
Kama-sankalpa: desire for results and the ego-driven plan behind it
Jnanagni: the fire of knowledge that burns away the bondage of action
Pandita: a sage whose understanding is established in the Self