A declaration · devotional in mood · easy to enter
“Trustful listening can open the door to freedom.”
Even a person who listens to this with trust and without fault-finding becomes free and reaches the auspicious realms earned by noble action.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallytrustful · without fault-finding · and · may listen · even · who · person · that one · even · freed · auspicious · realms · may attain · of those with noble actions
A person who listens with trust and without criticism is lifted free and reaches a better state earned by good action.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Moksha Sanyasa Yoga" (Liberation through Renunciation).
Verse 71 sits in Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga, "Liberation through Renunciation". The chapter has 78 verses in total.
A man who cannot read sits at the back of a village katha, listening without a word of objection. Krishna promises that even listening with faith and no fault-finding frees him and brings him to auspicious worlds.
Did you like this verse?
Even one who only listens, with faith and without scoffing, is freed and reaches the worlds of the virtuous.
What this verse means
A person who listens with trust and without criticism is lifted free and reaches a better state earned by good action.
Context & commentary
After Krishna has finished his teaching, he widens the promise beyond Arjuna. Anyone who hears this dialogue with trust and an open mind can be freed from confusion and reach a higher state.
What it looks like today
A man who cannot read sits at the back of a village katha, listening without a word of objection. Krishna promises that even listening with faith and no fault-finding frees him and brings him to auspicious worlds.
“You do not need perfect understanding to begin; open listening itself can change you.”
Explore related themes: moksha (34 verses), shraddha (34 verses)