Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 27

Chapter 9 – Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् ।
यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥

Transliteration

yatkaroṣi yadaśnāsi yajjuhoṣi dadāsi yat .
yattapasyasi kaunteya tatkuruṣva madarpaṇam ॥

Meaning

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give, whatever austerity you practise, O son of Kunti, do it as an offering to Me.

Word meanings

यत् – whatever
करोषि – you do
यत् – whatever
अश्नासि – you eat
यत् – whatever
जुहोषि – you offer in sacrifice
ददासि – you give
यत् – whatever
यत् – whatever
तपस्यसि – you practise as austerity
कौन्तेय – O son of Kunti
तत् – that
कुरुष्व – do
मदर्पणम् – as an offering to Me

Anvaya (word order)

कौन्तेय, यत् करोषि, यत् अश्नासि, यत् जुहोषि, यत् ददासि, यत् तपस्यसि, तत् मदर्पणं कुरुष्व ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna said He accepts a leaf, flower, fruit or water offered in love. One might think these belong to special times of worship; what about the rest of the day? In this verse the Lord carries worship out of the shrine and spreads it across the whole of life. Not only flowers, but every action can now be offered to Him.

He names five kinds of action that together embrace every area of life. Yat karoshi, whatever you do: all worldly work, a job, a business, household tasks. Yad ashnasi, whatever you eat: everything connected with sustaining the body. Yaj juhoshi, whatever you offer in sacrifice: religious ritual. Dadasi yat, whatever you give: duties to society. Yat tapasyasi, whatever austerity you practise: self-discipline and spiritual effort. Worldly, bodily, religious, social and spiritual, no sphere is left outside the offering.

‘Do it as an offering to Me.’ What does offering mean? Shankara says it is acting with the feeling that the work is for the Lord, without craving its fruit. Ramanuja adds a subtle point: one should offer not only the fruit but also the sense of doership, handing over even the feeling ‘I am the doer’, knowing that the Lord is the inner mover and the action is His service.

Note that Krishna includes eating. This is the basis of the Indian custom of first offering food to God and then receiving it as prasada. When food becomes prasada it purifies not only the body but the mind. In the same way office work, caring for children and nursing the sick can all become worship.

The verse is a beautiful confluence of karma yoga and bhakti yoga. Arjuna need not abandon the battle; he need only offer the battle too to the Lord. Action is not given up, but its nature is transformed, from bondage into freedom, as the next verse explains.

Context

Verse 26 spoke of offering a leaf, flower and the like. Here Krishna widens the offering to include every action of life. In the next verse He gives its fruit: freedom from the bonds of good and bad karma, and attainment of Him.

Life lesson

Worship is not confined to a temple or prayer room. Remember God at the start of every task, meals, work, giving, service, and offer it to Him at the end. Then the whole day becomes a prayer.

Key terms

Mad-arpana: offering to Me, to the Lord
Homa: offering into fire, religious rite
Dana: giving, social duty
Tapas: austerity, self-discipline
Prasada: what is received back after being offered to God