All beings arise from food. Food comes from rain. Rain comes from sacrifice. Sacrifice arises from action.
— Krishna
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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 ॥
Life depends on a chain: food comes from rain, rain comes from sacrifice, and sacrifice comes from action.
02
On the battlefield
Context & commentary
Krishna explains to a frozen Arjuna 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.
03
In your life
What it looks like 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.
The takeaway
“Your actions are not isolated; they feed the whole web that sustains life.”
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.
Food, rain, sacrifice, action: Krishna links each to the next in one chain that sustains life.
What this verse means
Life depends on a chain: food comes from rain, rain comes from sacrifice, and sacrifice comes from action.
Context & commentary
Krishna explains to a frozen Arjuna 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.
What it looks like 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.
“Your actions are not isolated; they feed the whole web that sustains life.”
Explore related themes: yajna (32 verses), karma (11 verses)