Sacred verse

Bhagavad Gita 3.14BG 3.14 · Chapter 3, Verse 14

Karma Yoga · Verse 14

A core teaching · grounding in mood · a little context helps

Action sustains the cycle that makes life possible.

The verse
अन्नाद्भवन्ति भूतानि पर्जन्यादन्नसम्भवः
यज्ञाद्भवति पर्जन्यो यज्ञः कर्मसमुद्भवः

All beings arise from food. Food comes from rain. Rain comes from sacrifice. Sacrifice arises from action.

Krishna
Bhagavad Gita · 3.14
Hindi · हिन्दी
सम्पूर्ण प्राणी अन्नसे उत्पन्न होते हैं । अन्न वर्षासे होती है । वर्षा यज्ञसे होती है । यज्ञ कर्मोंसे निष्पन्न होता है । कर्मोंको तू वेदसे उत्पन्न जान और वेदको अक्षरब्रह्मसे प्रकट हुआ जान । इसलिये वह सर्वव्यापी परमात्मा यज्ञ कर्तव्यकर्म में नित्य प्रतिष्ठित है ॥
Word by word

The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.

अन्नात्from foodभवन्तिcome into beingभूतानिbeingsपर्जन्यात्from rainअन्नसम्भवःfood-bornयज्ञात्from sacrificeभवतिcomesपर्जन्यःrainयज्ञःsacrificeकर्मसमुद्भवःaction-born

Read literallyfrom food · come into being · beings · from rain · food-born · from sacrifice · comes · rain · sacrifice · action-born

Understanding the verse

It shifts attention from private consumption to the shared systems your actions sustain.

In plain words

What this verse means

Life depends on a chain: food comes from rain, rain comes from sacrifice, and sacrifice comes from action.

On the battlefield

Context & commentary

On the battlefield, Arjuna is frozen while Krishna explains how human life is held together. This verse begins the chain linking food, rain, sacrifice, and action, showing that personal conduct affects the whole order.

In your life

Why this verse still matters

You open the fridge after a long week and forget the path behind that meal: weather, work, trade, care. One careless act can still belong to a larger system.

The takeaway

Your actions are not isolated; they feed the whole web that sustains life.

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Krishna guiding Arjuna toward selfless action — Karma Yoga
Chapter 3 · The Yoga of Action
Karma Yoga
43 verses
Read all verses in this chapter →

Explore related themes: yajna (32 verses), karma (11 verses)

Common questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 3.14 mean?

Life depends on a chain: food comes from rain, rain comes from sacrifice, and sacrifice comes from action.

Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 3.14?

Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Yoga" (The Yoga of Action).

Which chapter of the Bhagavad Gita contains verse 3.14?

Verse 14 sits in Chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Yoga, "The Yoga of Action". The chapter has 43 verses in total.

Why does Bhagavad Gita 3.14 matter today?

You open the fridge after a long week and forget the path behind that meal: weather, work, trade, care. One careless act can still belong to a larger system.

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