Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 25

Chapter 4 – Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

दैवमेवापरे यज्ञं योगिनः पर्युपासते ।
ब्रह्माग्नावपरे यज्ञं यज्ञेनैवोपजुह्वति ॥

Transliteration

daivamevāpare yajñaṃ yoginaḥ paryupāsate .
brahmāgnāvapare yajñaṃ yajñenaivopajuhvati ॥

Meaning

Some yogis perform sacrifice in the form of worship of the gods alone; others offer the self as sacrifice, by the self itself, into the fire of Brahman.

Word meanings

दैवम् – relating to the gods, in the form of worship of deities
एव – alone
अपरे – some, others
यज्ञम् – sacrifice
योगिनः – yogis, practitioners of Karma Yoga
पर्युपासते – perform devotedly, worship
ब्रह्माग्नौ – in the fire of Brahman
यज्ञेन – by sacrifice (by the self)
उपजुह्वति – offer as oblation

Anvaya (word order)

अपरे योगिनः दैवम् एव यज्ञं पर्युपासते; अपरे ब्रह्माग्नौ यज्ञेन एव यज्ञम् उपजुह्वति ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna described the highest sacrifice of the sage, in which everything is Brahman. Now, from 4.25 to 4.30, He lists about twelve kinds of sacrifice practised by different seekers. The purpose of this list is to show that ‘yajna’ is not merely a ritual of pouring offerings into fire, but any discipline in which a person offers up his self-interest for a higher goal.

The first is ‘daivam yajnam’ — sacrifice in the form of worship of the gods. According to Shankara this refers to the Vedic rites performed for deities such as Indra and Agni, and the ‘yogis’ who perform them are Karma Yogis. Performed with faith and a sense of duty, this sacrifice too purifies the mind and carries the seeker forward.

The second sacrifice is subtler: ‘brahmagnav apare yajnam yajnenaivopajuhvati’. Shankara explains that here the first word ‘yajna’ stands for the self as limited by its adjuncts — the individual soul. The sage offers this limited ‘I’ into the fire of Brahman; that is, he realises that the Self, free of all limiting adjuncts, is one with Brahman. This is ‘jnana-yajna’, the sacrifice of knowledge, whose superiority Krishna will declare in 4.33. Ramanuja understands the line to mean that some seekers, with the vision described in 4.24, perform sacrifice in the fire of Brahman, knowing all its means to be pervaded by Brahman.

The difference between these two sacrifices reflects the stage of the seeker. One begins with outer worship and duty; another surrenders the ego itself within. The Gita belittles neither; each seeker sacrifices according to his fitness, and every sincere sacrifice leads in the end towards knowledge.

Context

In 4.24 Krishna presented the sage's vision of Brahman as the highest sacrifice. With this verse He begins to describe various kinds of sacrifice — worship of the gods, and the offering of the self into Brahman. In the next verse (4.26) He describes the sacrifices of sense-restraint and of offering sense objects.

Life lesson

On the spiritual path each person begins according to his readiness — some with worship and ritual, others with meditation and reflection. Practise your own discipline with faith and respect the practice of others; in the end, every path aims at the surrender of the ego.

Key terms

Daiva-yajna: sacrifice in the form of worship of the gods and Vedic rites
Brahmagni: the fire of Brahman, into which the limited self is offered
Jnana-yajna: the sacrifice of dissolving the ego in Self-knowledge