A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Speech becomes discipline when it tells the truth without creating harm.”
Speech that does not agitate, is truthful, pleasant, and beneficial, together with study and practice, is called austerity of speech.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallynot causing agitation · speech · true · pleasant and beneficial · and · which · study and practice · and · indeed · of speech · austerity · is called
Speech becomes a disciplined practice when it is calm, truthful, kind, helpful, and supported by study.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga" (The Three Kinds of Faith).
Verse 15 sits in Chapter 17 of the Bhagavad Gita — Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga, "The Three Kinds of Faith". The chapter has 28 verses in total.
You are about to send a text that could inflame everything, or calm it. This verse asks whether your words reduce heat, carry truth, and actually help before you hit send.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts speech from impulse to disciplined care, so words become a practice of restraint and usefulness.
What this verse means
Speech becomes a disciplined practice when it is calm, truthful, kind, helpful, and supported by study.
Context & commentary
Krishna is still teaching Arjuna how inner discipline takes shape in daily life. After describing bodily austerity, he turns to speech: words should not disturb, should be true, pleasant, and useful, and should be backed by regular study.
Why this verse still matters
You are about to send a text that could inflame everything, or calm it. This verse asks whether your words reduce heat, carry truth, and actually help before you hit send.
“Your words can become a form of self-training, not just self-expression.”