No purifier compares to knowledge in this world. The one perfected in yoga finds that knowledge within the self in time.
— Krishna
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Bhagavad Gita · 4.38
Hindi · हिन्दी
इस मनुष्यलोकमें ज्ञानके समान पवित्र करनेवाला निःसन्देह दूसरा कोई साधन नहीं है । जिसका योग भलीभाँति सिद्ध हो गया है, वह कर्मयोगी उस तत्त्वज्ञानको अवश्य ही स्वयं अपनेआपमें पा लेता है ॥
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
नnotहिindeedज्ञानेनby knowledgeसदृशंequalपवित्रम्इहpurifying hereविद्यतेexistsतत्thatस्वयम्by oneselfयोगसंसिद्धःone perfected in yogaकालेनin timeआत्मनिin the selfविन्दतिfinds
Read literallynot · indeed · by knowledge · equal · purifying here · exists · that · by oneself · one perfected in yoga · in time · in the self · finds
Understanding the verse
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Nothing purifies like knowledge, Krishna says, and a person ripened in yoga finds it within, in time.
Clear understanding is the highest purifier. A person who has matured through yoga eventually discovers that truth within themselves.
02
On the battlefield
Context & commentary
Krishna keeps turning action into understanding for Arjuna, who is still frozen. After saying knowledge burns karma, Krishna adds that no purifier equals knowledge, and that a person perfected through yoga will eventually realize it within.
03
In your life
What it looks like today
Years into learning classical music, a singer finds one day that the raga comes from inside her without effort. Krishna says knowledge arrives like that for someone matured in yoga: in time, and from within.
The takeaway
“Steady practice brings understanding from within, given time.”
Clear understanding is the highest purifier. A person who has matured through yoga eventually discovers that truth within themselves.
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 4.38?
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (Knowledge and Renunciation of Action).
Which chapter of the Bhagavad Gita contains verse 4.38?
Verse 38 sits in Chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "Knowledge and Renunciation of Action". The chapter has 42 verses in total.
Why does Bhagavad Gita 4.38 matter today?
Years into learning classical music, a singer finds one day that the raga comes from inside her without effort. Krishna says knowledge arrives like that for someone matured in yoga: in time, and from within.
Nothing purifies like knowledge, Krishna says, and a person ripened in yoga finds it within, in time.
What this verse means
Clear understanding is the highest purifier. A person who has matured through yoga eventually discovers that truth within themselves.
Context & commentary
Krishna keeps turning action into understanding for Arjuna, who is still frozen. After saying knowledge burns karma, Krishna adds that no purifier equals knowledge, and that a person perfected through yoga will eventually realize it within.
What it looks like today
Years into learning classical music, a singer finds one day that the raga comes from inside her without effort. Krishna says knowledge arrives like that for someone matured in yoga: in time, and from within.
“Steady practice brings understanding from within, given time.”
Explore related themes: jnana (24 verses)