The Yoga of the Works

Karma-yoga

The world is woven of giving and receiving; offer your work into that weaving, and the One for whom all sacrifice is made will receive it. — The Delight of Krishna

The soul enters in

brāhmī sthiti — the firm standing in the Brahman, where desire falls silent like the filled and motionless sea

and is led towards

yajña — every work laid upon the altar as an offering to the Lord of works

Begin at 3 · 1 Play chapter

Recitations

Swami Sarvagananda ji0:00
Ashit Desai0:00

In this chapter

43 verses

Summary of chapter 3

I. Works and Sacrifice (1-28)

Arjuna, the pragmatic man. is perplexed by meta-physical thought and asks for a simple rule of action. The Gita begins to develop more clearly its positive and imperative doctrine of work,. - of works done as a sacrifice to the Divine.

II. The Determinism of Nature (27-43)

Arjuna is told that he must act always by the law of his nature.

Chapter 3 illustration, titled कर्मयोगः — Illustration · Sushanto Nath, Sri Aurobindo Society

Chapter outline

Choose a range to read just those verses.

The verses

Showing verses 9–16 of 43 · Show all 43 verses

Śrī Bhagavān uvācaश्रीभगवानुवाच

3·37, a key verseकाम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः । महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥ ३७ ॥kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajoguṇasamudbhavaḥ, mahāśano mahāpāpmā viddhyenamiha vairiṇam.This is desire and its companion wrath, children of rajas, all-devouring, all-polluting, know thou this as the…
3·38धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथादर्शो मलेन च । यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ॥ ३८ ॥dhūmenāvriyate vahniryathādarśo malena ca, yatholbenāvṛto garbhastathā tenedamāvṛtam.As a fire is covered over by smoke, as a mirror by dust, as an embryo is wrapped by the amnion, so this…
3·39आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा । कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च ॥ ३९ ॥āvṛtaṁ jñānametena jñānino nityavairiṇā, kāmarūpeṇa kaunteya duṣpūreṇānalena ca.Enveloped is knowledge, O Kaunteya, by this eternal enemy of knowledge in the form of desire which is an…
3·40इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते । एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम् ॥ ४० ॥indriyāṇi mano buddhirasyādhiṣṭhānamucyate, etairvimohayatyeṣa jñānamāvṛtya dehinam.The senses, mind and intellect are its seat; enveloping knowledge by these it bewilders the embodied soul.
3·41तस्मात्त्वमिन्द्रियाण्यादौ नियम्य भरतर्षभ । पाप्मानं प्रजहि ह्येनं ज्ञानविज्ञाननाशनम् ॥ ४१ ॥tasmāttvamindriyāṇyādau niyamya bharatarṣabha, pāpmānaṁ prajahi hyenaṁ jñānavijñānanāśanam.Therefore, O Best of the Bharatas, controlling first the senses, do thou slay this thing of sin destructive of…
3·42इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः । मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः ॥ ४२ ॥indriyāṇi parāṇyāhurindriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ, manasastu parā buddhiryo buddheḥ paratastu saḥ.Supreme, they say, (beyond their objects) are the senses, supreme over the senses the mind, supreme over the…
3·43एवं बुद्धेः परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना । जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम् ॥ ४३ ॥evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā saṁstabhyātmānamātmanā, jahi śatruṁ mahābāho kāmarūpaṁ durāsadam.Thus awakening by the understanding to the Highest which is beyond even the discerning mind, putting force on…

Show all 43 verses

End of the chapter

ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सुब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादेकर्मयोगो नाम तृतीयोऽध्यायः ॥ ३॥

om tatsaditi śrīmadbhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsubrahmavidyāyāṁ yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṁvādekarmayogo nāma tṛtīyo’dhyāyaḥ

Thus, in the Upanishad sung by the Lord, the science of Brahman, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the third chapter entitled “The Yoga of Works”

Reading