Seven hundred verses is a lot, and in practice a few dozen do most of the work — quoted on walls, at funerals, in speeches and in arguments. This page collects the thirty most-quoted verses of the Bhagavad Gita, each in Devanagari, in transliteration and in plain English, with the context that makes it mean what it means. It also corrects four that are almost universally quoted in misleading form — including the fourth line of 2.47 that nobody finishes, and the fact that 11.32 says I am time, not what the famous English version says. A complete eighteen-chapter index closes the page.
📘 The Gita at a Glance
Extent: 700 verses in 18 chapters
Part of: the Mahabharata, within the Bhishma Parva
Structure: three shatkas of six — Karma, Bhakti, Jnana
Most quoted: 2.47 · 4.7–8 · 9.22 · 11.32 · 18.66
Called the Gita in miniature: Chapter 2
The charama shloka: 18.66
Last word: spoken by Sanjaya, not Krishna
📑 Table of Contents
📖 How to Use This Page
Each verse below is given four ways: in Devanagari, in transliteration with diacritics, in plain English, and — where it matters — with a note on what is usually got wrong about it. Chapter-and-verse numbering follows the standard vulgate used in most printed editions.
⭐ The Verses (1–16)
1.1 — The first verse — and the first word is dharma
धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः ।
मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥
dharma-kṣhetre kuru-kṣhetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ |
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāśhchaiva kim akurvata sañjaya ||
On the field of dharma, the field of the Kurus, assembled and eager to fight — what did my people and the sons of Pandu do, Sanjaya?
The only verse Dhritarashtra speaks in the whole Gita. Note mamakah, “my people,” against “the sons of Pandu.”
2.13 — Childhood, youth, age — and then another body
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा ।
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति ॥
dehino'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā |
tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati ||
Just as the embodied one passes in this body through childhood, youth and old age, so it passes to another body. The wise are not confused by this.
2.20 — Never born, never dying
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ |
ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato'yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre ||
It is never born and never dies; nor, having been, does it cease to be. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient — it is not slain when the body is slain.
Nearly identical to Katha Upanishad 1.2.18.
2.22 — Worn garments
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि ।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛihṇāti naro'parāṇi |
tathā śharīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī ||
As a person casts off worn-out garments and puts on new ones, so the embodied one casts off worn-out bodies and enters others that are new.
2.23 — Weapons do not cut it
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥
nainaṁ chhindanti śhastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ |
na chainaṁ kledayanty āpo na śhoṣhayati mārutaḥ ||
Weapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, and wind does not dry it.
2.47 — ★ The most quoted verse in the Gita
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana |
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo'stv akarmaṇi ||
You have a claim on action alone, never on its fruits. Do not let the fruits of action be your motive — and do not be attached to inaction either.
The fourth line is almost always dropped. Detachment from results is explicitly not a licence for withdrawal.
2.48 — Yoga defined
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya |
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate ||
Established in yoga, perform your actions, abandoning attachment, Dhananjaya — the same in success and failure. Evenness is what is called yoga.
Samatvam yoga uchyate. Two verses later comes the other definition: yogah karmasu kaushalam, yoga is skill in action.
2.62–63 — The ladder of downfall
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते ।
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥
क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः ।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥
dhyāyato viṣhayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣhūpajāyate |
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho'bhijāyate ||
krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ |
smṛiti-bhraṁśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati ||
Brooding on objects breeds attachment; from attachment springs desire; from desire, anger. From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from that, destruction of discrimination — and the person is lost.
Eight steps, each following from the last, beginning with nothing more than dwelling on something.
3.35 — Your own dharma
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् ।
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥
śhreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣhṭhitāt |
sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śhreyaḥ para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ ||
Better one's own dharma though imperfectly performed than the dharma of another well performed. Better death in one's own dharma; the dharma of another brings danger.
Restated at 18.47 — one of very few verses the Gita gives twice.
4.7–8 — ★ The avatara verses
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata |
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛijāmy aham ||
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśhāya cha duṣhkṛitām |
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge ||
Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, I send forth myself. For the protection of the good, the destruction of wrongdoers, and the establishing of dharma, I come into being age after age.
The scriptural basis of the entire Dashavatara scheme.
4.34 — How to approach a teacher
तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥
tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśhnena sevayā |
upadekṣhyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśhinaḥ ||
Know this by prostration, by searching enquiry and by service. The wise, who have seen the truth, will instruct you in that knowledge.
Note that pariprashna — searching enquiry — is required, not discouraged.
5.10 — The lotus leaf
ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः ।
लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥
brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ |
lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā ||
One who acts having offered all actions to Brahman and abandoned attachment is not touched by wrongdoing, as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.
The leaf sits on the water, not away from it — full contact without absorption.
5.18 — Equal vision
विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि ।
शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः ॥
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini |
śhuni chaiva śhva-pāke cha paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśhinaḥ ||
The wise see the same in a brahmana endowed with learning and humility, in a cow, in an elephant, and in a dog and one who cooks a dog.
The list is deliberately graded — and the grading is what makes no difference to the seeing.
6.5 — Lift yourself by yourself
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥
uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet |
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ ||
Let a person lift himself by himself; let him not degrade himself. For the self alone is the friend of the self, and the self alone is its enemy.
6.34–35 — The restless mind — and Krishna agreeing
चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम् ।
तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् ॥
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् ।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ॥
chañchalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛiṣhṇa pramāthi balavad dṛiḍham |
tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣhkaram ||
asaṁśhayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam |
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate ||
Arjuna: The mind is restless, turbulent, powerful and obstinate. Restraining it is, I think, as hard as restraining the wind. — Krishna: Undoubtedly the mind is hard to restrain and restless; but by practice and dispassion it is held.
Krishna concedes the difficulty outright before answering, and offers two words with no timeline.
6.40 — No effort is lost
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते ।
न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ॥
pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśhas tasya vidyate |
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛit kaśhchid durgatiṁ tāta gachchhati ||
Partha, neither in this world nor the next is there destruction for such a one. No one who does good, my friend, ever comes to a bad end.
Krishna's answer to Arjuna's question about the person who tries sincerely and fails.
⭐ The Verses (17–32)
7.19 — Vasudeva is all
बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते ।
वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate |
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ ||
At the end of many births, the one who knows takes refuge in me, realising that Vasudeva is all. Such a great soul is very rare.
8.6 — The last thought
यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् ।
तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ॥
yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram |
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ ||
Whatever state a person remembers when leaving the body at the end, that state alone is attained — being always absorbed in it.
The second half is usually omitted, and it is what makes this a teaching about habit rather than a final gamble.
9.22 — ★ Yoga-kshemam vahamy aham
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते ।
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥
ananyāśh chintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate |
teṣhāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣhemaṁ vahāmy aham ||
To those who worship me with undivided attention, ever steadfast — to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.
The Gita's most direct assurance, and among the most recited lines in India.
9.26 — A leaf, a flower, a fruit, water
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥
patraṁ puṣhpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayachchhati |
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛitam aśhnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
Whoever offers me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water — that offering of love, given by the pure-hearted, I accept.
Every item is free, available anywhere, and needs no priest, wealth or qualification.
9.30 — Even one of very bad conduct
अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक् ।
साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः ॥
api chet su-durāchāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk |
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ ||
Even if one of very bad conduct worships me with undivided devotion, he is to be regarded as righteous, for he has rightly resolved.
The next verse adds: declare it boldly — my devotee never perishes.
10.41 — A fragment of my splendour
यद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा ।
तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं मम तेजोंऽशसम्भवम् ॥
yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṁ śhrīmad ūrjitam eva vā |
tat tad evāvagachchha tvaṁ mama tejo-'ṁśha-sambhavam ||
Whatever being is glorious, prosperous or powerful — know that to have sprung from a fragment of my splendour.
The general rule that replaces the whole list of vibhutis that precedes it.
11.32 — ★ I am Time
कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः ।
ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः ॥
kālo'smi loka-kṣhaya-kṛit pravṛiddho lokān samāhartum iha pravṛittaḥ |
ṛite'pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣhyanti sarve ye'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣhu yodhāḥ ||
I am Time, grown mature, engaged here in destroying the worlds. Even without you, all the warriors arrayed in the opposing ranks shall cease to be.
Kala means time. The familiar English “I am become death” is a paraphrase; the verse says kalo'smi.
11.33 — Be merely the instrument
तस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व जित्वा शत्रून्भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम् ।
मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन् ॥
tasmāt tvam uttiṣhṭha yaśho labhasva jitvā śhatrūn bhuṅkṣhva rājyaṁ samṛiddham |
mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasāchin ||
Therefore stand up and win glory. Conquer the enemies and enjoy a prosperous kingdom. They have already been slain by me — be merely the instrument.
Not fatalism: the metaphysics and the instruction to act arrive in the same verse.
11.55 — The verse Shankara calls the essence
मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो मद्भक्तः सङ्गवर्जितः ।
निर्वैरः सर्वभूतेषु यः स मामेति पाण्डव ॥
mat-karma-kṛin mat-paramo mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ |
nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣhu yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava ||
One who does my work, holds me as supreme, is devoted to me, is free from attachment and without enmity towards any being — that one comes to me.
Nirvairah sarva-bhuteshu — without enmity toward any being, said on a battlefield.
12.13–14 — The devotee dear to God
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च ।
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ॥
adveṣhṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva cha |
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣhamī ||
One who has no hatred toward any being, who is friendly and compassionate, free from possessiveness and ego, even in pain and pleasure, forgiving…
The list of what makes a devotee dear contains no ritual, learning, lineage or achievement — only disposition.
15.7 — An eternal fragment
ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः ।
मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ॥
mamaivāṁśho jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ |
manaḥ-ṣhaṣhṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛiti-sthāni karṣhati ||
An eternal fragment of my own Self, having become a living being in the world of the living, draws to itself the senses, of which the mind is the sixth.
16.21 — The three gates
त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः ।
कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत् ॥
tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśhanam ātmanaḥ |
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet ||
Threefold is this gate of hell, destructive of the self: desire, anger and greed. Therefore these three should be abandoned.
17.3 — A person is made of their faith
सत्त्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत ।
श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः ॥
sattvānurūpā sarvasya śhraddhā bhavati bhārata |
śhraddhā-mayo'yaṁ puruṣho yo yach-chhraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ ||
The faith of each is according to their essential nature. A person is made of their faith — whatever their faith is, that they are.
Yo yach-chhraddhah sa eva sah.
18.63 — Do as you wish
इति ते ज्ञानमाख्यातं गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं मया ।
विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु ॥
iti te jñānam ākhyātaṁ guhyād guhyataraṁ mayā |
vimṛiśhyaitad aśheṣheṇa yathechchhasi tathā kuru ||
Thus has knowledge more secret than all that is secret been declared to you by me. Reflect on it fully — and then do as you wish.
After seventeen chapters, the choice is handed back.
18.66 — ★ The charama shloka
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ।
अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śharaṇaṁ vraja |
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyāmi mā śhuchaḥ ||
Abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in me alone. I shall free you from all wrongs — do not grieve.
The most commented-upon verse in the Gita, and the one on which the Vedantic schools differ most sharply.
18.78 — The last verse
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः ।
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥
yatra yogeśhvaraḥ kṛiṣhṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ |
tatra śhrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama ||
Wherever there is Krishna, lord of yoga, and wherever there is Partha the archer — there are prosperity, victory, welfare and firm policy. That is my conviction.
Spoken by Sanjaya, not Krishna or Arjuna. And stated as a conjunction: wherever both are together.
❌ Four Verses Commonly Quoted Wrong
2.47 — the missing fourth line
Almost always quoted as “you have a right to action, not to its fruits” and stopped there. The verse continues: ma te sango'stv akarmani — “and do not be attached to inaction either.” Chapter 3 exists largely to close that loophole.
11.32 — “I am become death”
The Sanskrit is kalo'smi loka-kshaya-krit — I am time, the destroyer of worlds. Kala means time, and the destruction described is what time does to everything. The famous English rendering is a paraphrase that has largely displaced the more accurate one.
8.6 — the last thought
Quoted as “whatever you think of at death, that you become,” which reads as a deathbed lottery. The verse's second half says sada tad-bhava-bhavitah — “being always absorbed in it.” It is a teaching about lifelong habit, and the very next verse tells Arjuna to remember at all times and fight.
18.66 — quoted without its dispute
The charama shloka is often presented as having one settled meaning. It does not. Shankara reads sarva-dharman parityajya through knowledge and renunciation; Ramanuja treats it as the doctrine of prapatti, total surrender, and it is central to Sri Vaishnavism; Madhva reads it within his own framework. The disagreement is old and substantive.
📚 The Complete Chapter Index
All eighteen chapters, with Sanskrit names, verse counts and the three-fold shatka division. Verse counts follow the standard vulgate and total exactly 700.
| # | Chapter | Meaning | Verses | Shatka |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arjuna Vishada Yoga | The Despondency of Arjuna | 47 | Karma |
| 2 | Sankhya Yoga | The Yoga of Knowledge | 72 | Karma |
| 3 | Karma Yoga | The Yoga of Action | 43 | Karma |
| 4 | Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga | Knowledge, Action & Renunciation | 42 | Karma |
| 5 | Karma Sanyasa Yoga | The Yoga of Renunciation | 29 | Karma |
| 6 | Dhyana Yoga | The Yoga of Meditation | 47 | Karma |
| 7 | Jnana Vijnana Yoga | Knowledge and Realisation | 30 | Bhakti |
| 8 | Akshara Brahma Yoga | The Imperishable Brahman | 28 | Bhakti |
| 9 | Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga | The Royal Knowledge | 34 | Bhakti |
| 10 | Vibhuti Yoga | The Divine Glories | 42 | Bhakti |
| 11 | Vishwarupa Darshana Yoga | The Vision of the Cosmic Form | 55 | Bhakti |
| 12 | Bhakti Yoga | The Yoga of Devotion | 20 | Bhakti |
| 13 | Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga | The Field and Its Knower | 34 | Jnana |
| 14 | Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga | The Three Gunas | 27 | Jnana |
| 15 | Purushottama Yoga | The Supreme Person | 20 | Jnana |
| 16 | Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga | The Divine and the Demonic | 24 | Jnana |
| 17 | Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga | The Threefold Faith | 28 | Jnana |
| 18 | Moksha Sanyasa Yoga | Liberation Through Renunciation | 78 | Jnana |
| Total | 700 | |||
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous verse of the Bhagavad Gita?
Verse 2.47 — karmany evadhikaras te ma phaleshu kadachana — “you have a claim on action alone, never on its fruits.” Its fourth line is almost always omitted: ma te sango'stv akarmani, “do not be attached to inaction either.” Detachment from results is explicitly not a licence for withdrawal.
How many verses and chapters does the Bhagavad Gita have?
Eighteen chapters and 700 verses. They divide into three shatkas of six — chapters 1–6 on karma and the individual, 7–12 on bhakti and the supreme, 13–18 on jnana and the relation between them. The 700 total works out with chapter 13 at 34 verses; recensions that include an extra opening verse there give 701.
Does the Bhagavad Gita really say 'I am become death'?
No. The Sanskrit at 11.32 is kalo'smi loka-kshaya-krit — I am time, the destroyer of worlds. Kala means time, and the destruction described is what time does to everything. The familiar English rendering as “death” is a paraphrase that has largely displaced the accurate one.
What is the charama shloka of the Gita?
Verse 18.66: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja — abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in me alone. It is the most commented-upon verse in the Gita, and the schools differ sharply: Shankara reads it through knowledge and renunciation, Ramanuja as prapatti or total surrender, Madhva within his own framework.
Which verses of the Gita describe the avatara?
Verses 4.7 and 4.8. The first: whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, Krishna sends forth himself. The second gives the threefold purpose — protection of the good, destruction of wrongdoers, establishing of dharma — age after age. Together they are the scriptural basis of the whole Dashavatara scheme.
What does the Gita say about the moment of death?
Verse 8.6: whatever state is remembered when leaving the body is attained — and then sada tad-bhava-bhavitah, “being always absorbed in it.” The second half is usually dropped, turning a teaching about lifelong habit into what sounds like a deathbed lottery. Verse 8.7 then says: remember at all times, and fight.
Who speaks the last verse of the Bhagavad Gita?
Sanjaya, not Krishna or Arjuna. Verse 18.78 gives his conviction: wherever Krishna the lord of yoga and Partha the archer are found, there are prosperity, victory, welfare and firm policy. It is stated as a conjunction — not either alone — and it returns the text to its outer frame.
🙏 Conclusion
A handful of verses carry most of the Gita's public life, and they are worth having accurately. 2.47 has a fourth line that reverses the lazy reading of the first three. 11.32 says time, not death. 8.6 is about habit, not a final gamble. And 18.66, the verse most often presented as the Gita's settled last word, is the one its greatest commentators disagree about most sharply. Taken together with the chapter index below, this page is meant as a working reference — but the verses reward being read where they sit, in the argument that produced them, which is what the eighteen chapter guides are for.
📖 Read the Gita Chapter by Chapter
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📚 More from the Gita Series
Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga
The Gita in miniature — the imperishable Self, karma yoga, and the ladder of downfall.
Chapter 11: Vishwarupa Darshana
The divine eye, a thousand suns, and 'I am Time, the destroyer of worlds'.
Chapter 18: Moksha Sanyasa
The longest chapter — 'do as you wish', and the charama shloka.