15 lines, each with its Sanskrit. Updated October 2026.
Krishna's promises to the one who leans on him, each with its verse. Keep the one you need.
When you can't hold it anymore.
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ।अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥
sarvadharmān parityajya mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja | ahaṃ tvā sarvapāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ ||
Leave every other support and take refuge in Me alone. I will free you from all sin. Do not grieve.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 18.66
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते ।तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥
ananyāś cintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate | teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yogakṣemaṃ vahāmy aham ||
Those who think of Me alone and worship Me always, I bring what they lack and protect what they have.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 9.22
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana | mā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi ||
Your right is to the work, never its fruits. Don't make the fruit your motive, or cling to inaction.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 2.47
तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत ।तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम् ॥
tam eva śaraṇaṃ gaccha sarvabhāvena bhārata | tatprasādāt parāṃ śāntiṃ sthānaṃ prāpsyasi śāśvatam ||
Take refuge in Him alone with your whole being. By His grace you will reach supreme peace, the eternal home.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 18.62
यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् ।यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥
yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat | yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva madarpaṇam ||
Whatever you do, eat, offer, give or endure in discipline, do it as an offering to Me.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 9.27
Krishna on how close he is to anyone who turns to him.
समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रियः ।ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम् ॥
samo 'haṃ sarvabhūteṣu na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ | ye bhajanti tu māṃ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham ||
Equal to all, I hate none and favour none. Those who love Me live in Me, and I in them.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 9.29
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥
patraṃ puṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati | tad ahaṃ bhaktyupahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
A leaf, a flower, a fruit, some water: whatever a sincere heart offers Me with love, I accept.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 9.26
मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु ।मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे ॥
manmanā bhava madbhakto madyājī māṃ namaskuru | mām evaiṣyasi satyaṃ te pratijāne priyo 'si me ||
Remember Me, love Me, worship Me, bow to Me. You will reach Me. I promise: you are dear to Me.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 18.65
His word that goodness is protected, and that no one who does good is lost.
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदाऽऽत्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata | abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham ||
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, I bring Myself into the world.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 4.7
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय संभवामि युगे युगे ॥
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām | dharmasaṃsthāpanārthāya saṃbhavāmi yuge yuge ||
To protect the good, end the wicked and restore dharma, I come into being age after age.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 4.8
क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा शश्वच्छान्तिं निगच्छति ।कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति ॥
kṣipraṃ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvacchāntiṃ nigacchati | kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati ||
Such a person quickly becomes righteous and finds lasting peace. Declare it boldly, Arjuna: My devotee never perishes.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 9.31
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते ।नहि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ॥
pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśas tasya vidyate | na hi kalyāṇakṛt kaścid durgatiṃ tāta gacchati ||
Neither here nor hereafter is such a person ruined. No one who does good, dear friend, comes to grief.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 6.40
For holding steady while nothing seems to move.
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः ।आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥
mātrāsparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkhadāḥ | āgamāpāyino 'nityās tāṃs titikṣasva bhārata ||
Heat and cold, pleasure and pain come and go through the senses. They don't last. Bear them patiently.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 2.14
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् ।तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥
āpūryamāṇam acalapratiṣṭhaṃ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat | tadvat kāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāmakāmī ||
As rivers enter the full, still ocean, desires enter the wise. They find peace; one who chases desires does not.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 2.70
यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च यः ।हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैर्मुक्तो यः स च मे प्रियः ॥
yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate ca yaḥ | harṣāmarṣabhayodvegair mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ ||
Troubling no one, troubled by no one, free of elation, envy, fear and worry: that one is dear to Me.
Krishna to Arjuna · Bhagavad Gita 12.15
Not in the Gita
Whatever happened, happened for good. Whatever is happening is happening for good. Whatever will happen will also be for good.
Where it comes from: From the popular 'Gita Saar' poster, a modern Hindi summary framed in homes and shops. The line is not in any of the Gita's 700 verses.
What the Gita says
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे ।गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥
aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṃ prajñāvādāṃś ca bhāṣase | gatāsūn agatāsūṃś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ ||
You grieve where grief is not due, yet talk like the wise. Those who know grieve neither dead nor living.
In 2.11 Krishna says the wise grieve for neither the living nor the dead, and he makes no claim that every event is good.
Not in the Gita
You came empty-handed and you will leave empty-handed. What is yours today was someone else's yesterday.
Where it comes from: Also from the 'Gita Saar' poster, usually shared as Krishna's words. No verse says it.
What the Gita says
अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत ।अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना ॥
avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyaktamadhyāni bhārata | avyaktanidhanāny eva tatra kā paridevanā ||
Every being is unseen before birth, seen for a while, and unseen again after death. Why grieve over this?
2.28 says beings are unseen before birth, seen in the middle and unseen again after death, so there is nothing to mourn; it says nothing about possessions.
Not in the Gita
Change is the law of the universe.
Where it comes from: A line from the 'Gita Saar' poster, widely posted as a Gita quote with no chapter or verse.
What the Gita says
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः ।आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥
mātrāsparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkhadāḥ | āgamāpāyino 'nityās tāṃs titikṣasva bhārata ||
Heat and cold, pleasure and pain come and go through the senses. They don't last. Bear them patiently.
2.14 speaks of heat and cold, pleasure and pain that come and go, and asks Arjuna to bear them patiently; it names no law of change.
Not in the Gita
Why do you worry without reason? Whom do you fear? Who can kill you? The soul is neither born nor does it die.
Where it comes from: The opening lines of the 'Gita Saar' poster. The last sentence echoes 2.20; the questions before it are not in the Gita.
What the Gita says
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṃ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ | ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṃ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ||
The Self is never born and never dies. Unborn and eternal, it is not killed when the body is killed.
2.20 describes the self as unborn, undying and eternal, and it asks no questions about worry or fear.
Not in the Gita
What we think, we become.
Where it comes from: Usually credited to the Buddha, as a loose modern rendering of the Dhammapada's first verse. Some posts online label it Bhagavad Gita 6.5.
What the Gita says
श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः
śraddhāmayo 'yaṃ puruṣo yo yacchraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ
Every person is shaped by their faith. As your faith is, so you are.
17.3 says a person is shaped by their shraddha, the faith they hold, which is narrower than every passing thought.
Not in the Gita
We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.
Where it comes from: Written by the American writer Robert Brault, and shared online as Gita wisdom.
What the Gita says
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana | mā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi ||
Your right is to the work, never its fruits. Don't make the fruit your motive, or cling to inaction.
2.47 gives you a right to the action and none to its results, and says nothing about goals or obstacles.
Not in the Gita
Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.
Where it comes from: Shared as a Gita verse on yoga sites, but no chapter or verse of the Gita matches it. It may loosely echo 6.20, which uses the phrase 'the self by the self'.
What the Gita says
उद्धरेदात्मनाऽऽत्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥
uddhared ātmanātmānaṃ nātmānam avasādayet | ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ ||
Lift yourself by your own effort, and never pull yourself down. You are your own friend, and your own enemy.
6.5 asks you to lift yourself by your own effort and not let yourself sink, since you can be your own friend or your own enemy.
Not in the Gita
Yoga is the practice of tolerating the consequences of being yourself.
Where it comes from: Usually credited to Dinabandhu Sarley, an American yoga teacher, and often captioned as Gita wisdom.
What the Gita says
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥
yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā dhanañjaya | siddhyasiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate ||
Act from steadiness, free of attachment, the same in success and failure. That evenness is yoga.
2.48 defines yoga as evenness of mind in success and failure while you do your work, with nothing about tolerating yourself.
Not in the Gita
Trust Krishna. He has planned something better for you.
Where it comes from: A modern social media caption, usually posted over a Krishna picture. No verse matches it.
What the Gita says
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते ।तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥
ananyāś cintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate | teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yogakṣemaṃ vahāmy aham ||
Those who think of Me alone and worship Me always, I bring what they lack and protect what they have.
9.22 promises that Krishna brings what is lacking and keeps what is held for those who think of him with an undivided mind; it makes no promise of a better plan.
Not in the Gita
Radha asked Krishna why he never married her. Krishna said: marriage needs two people, and we are one.
Where it comes from: A modern caption shared widely in Hindi and English posts. Radha comes from later devotional poetry, such as Jayadeva's Gita Govinda, and does not appear in the Gita.
What the Gita says
मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु ।मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे ॥
manmanā bhava madbhakto madyājī māṃ namaskuru | mām evaiṣyasi satyaṃ te pratijāne priyo 'si me ||
Remember Me, love Me, worship Me, bow to Me. You will reach Me. I promise: you are dear to Me.
In 18.65 Krishna speaks to Arjuna, asking him to keep his mind on Krishna and be devoted, and says 'you are dear to me'.
A single verse and what it means, there when you wake up.
A week of lines for what you're going through, in your inbox.
Send my weekThe Sanskrit word in 18.66 is śaraṇam, refuge, the shelter a tired traveller walks into. Krishna says it near the end of the Gita, after seventeen chapters of teaching.
Ramanuja's tradition calls 18.66 the carama śloka, the final verse that every other line leads to. Arjuna answers a few verses later, in 18.73: my confusion is gone, I will do as you say.
His plainest promise is 18.66: take refuge in me alone, I will free you from all sins, do not grieve. In 9.22 he says that for those who think of him without wavering, he carries what they lack and protects what they have.
It is the last line of 9.22. Yoga here means gaining what you lack and kṣema means keeping what you have, and Krishna says he himself carries both for the devotee whose mind rests on him.
No. In 2.47 he warns against clinging to inaction, and after hearing 18.66 Arjuna picks up his bow again (18.73). The trust Krishna asks for goes along with the work.
Not in those words. The closest verses are 18.66, where Krishna says take refuge in me alone and do not grieve, and 9.22, where he says he carries the needs of those who rest their mind on him.
9.29: Krishna says he is the same to all beings, and those who worship him with love are in him and he in them. In 9.31 he tells Arjuna to declare it boldly: my devotee never perishes.