Scripture
The Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita — “the Song of the Lord” — is a dialogue of 700 verses between Prince Arjuna and Krishna on the eve of the great war of the Mahabharata. Faced with fighting his own family, Arjuna collapses in despair; Krishna’s answer becomes a complete guide to living: how to act without anxiety, how to master the mind, and how to find the Divine in everything.
Verse of the day
Bhagavad Gita 2.47
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana |
mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo’stvakarmaṇi ||
You have a right to your actions alone, never to their fruits. Do not let the results be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction.
Read the Gita chapter by chapter
Every chapter page has a summary and all of its verses in Sanskrit, transliteration and English.
Most-read verses
| 1.1 | Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre Dhritarashtra said: On the field of dharma, the field of the Kurus, gathered together and eager to fight — wha… |
| 2.13 | Dehino Asmin Yatha Dehe Just as the embodied soul passes through childhood, youth and old age in this body, so it passes into another … |
| 2.14 | Matra Sparshas Tu Kaunteya Contact of the senses with their objects gives rise to cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and go and … |
| 2.20 | Na Jayate Mriyate Va The Self is never born and never dies. It did not come into being and will not cease to be. Unborn, eternal, e… |
| 2.22 | Vasamsi Jirnani As a person discards worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so the embodied Self discards worn-out bodies and … |
| 2.23 | Nainam Chindanti Shastrani Weapons cannot cut the Self, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it and wind cannot dry it. |
| 2.47 | Karmanye Vadhikaraste You have a right to your actions alone, never to their fruits. Do not let the results be your motive, and do n… |
| 2.48 | Yogasthah Kuru Karmani Established in yoga, perform your actions, giving up attachment, Arjuna. Be even-minded in success and failure… |
| 2.62 | Dhyayato Vishayan Pumsah When a person dwells on the objects of the senses, attachment to them arises. From attachment comes desire, an… |
| 2.63 | Krodhad Bhavati Sammohah From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from confusion of memory, the loss of reason; a… |
| 3.21 | Yad Yad Acharati Shreshthah Whatever a great person does, others follow. Whatever standard they set, the world follows. |
| 3.35 | Shreyan Svadharmo Vigunah Better is one’s own duty, even imperfectly done, than the duty of another well performed. Better is death in o… |
| 4.7 | Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, Arjuna, then I manifest myself. |
| 4.8 | Paritranaya Sadhunam To protect the good, to destroy the wicked and to re-establish dharma, I take birth age after age. |
| 4.24 | Brahmarpanam Brahma Havir The offering is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, offered by Brahman into the fire of Brahman. Brahman alone i… |
| 5.18 | Vidya Vinaya Sampanne The wise see with an equal eye a learned and humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste. |
| 6.5 | Uddhared Atmanatmanam Lift yourself by your own self; do not let yourself sink. The self alone is one’s friend, and the self alone i… |
| 6.35 | Asamshayam Mahabaho Without doubt, mighty-armed one, the mind is restless and hard to control. But it can be mastered by practice … |
| 7.7 | Mattah Parataram Nanyat There is nothing higher than me, Arjuna. All this is strung on me like pearls on a thread. |
| 7.19 | Bahunam Janmanam Ante At the end of many births, the wise one takes refuge in me, realising that Vasudeva is all. Such a great soul … |
| 9.22 | Ananyash Chintayanto Mam To those who worship me with undivided devotion, ever united with me, I bring what they lack and protect what … |
| 9.26 | Patram Pushpam Phalam Toyam Whoever offers me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water — that offering of love from a pure heart I… |
| 9.27 | Yat Karoshi Yad Ashnasi Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give and whatever discipline … |
| 10.20 | Aham Atma Gudakesha I am the Self, Arjuna, seated in the heart of all beings. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all be… |
| 11.32 | Kalo Asmi Lokakshayakrit I am Time, grown mighty, the destroyer of worlds, here engaged in drawing in the worlds. Even without you, non… |
| 12.13 | Adveshta Sarva Bhutanam One who hates no being, who is friendly and compassionate, free from possessiveness and ego, balanced in pain … |
| 15.7 | Mamaivamsho Jivaloke An eternal fragment of myself becomes the living soul in the world of beings. It draws to itself the five sens… |
| 16.21 | Trividham Narakasyedam Desire, anger and greed — these are the three gates of hell that destroy the self. Therefore, give up these th… |
| 18.66 | Sarva Dharman Parityajya Setting aside all duties, take refuge in me alone. I will free you from all sins — do not grieve. |
| 18.78 | Yatra Yogeshvarah Krishnah Wherever there is Krishna, the lord of yoga, and wherever there is Arjuna, the archer, there will surely be pr… |
How the Gita is structured
Traditional commentators divide the 18 chapters into three groups of six. Chapters 1–6 emphasise karma yoga, the path of selfless action; chapters 7–12 emphasise bhakti yoga, the path of devotion; and chapters 13–18 emphasise jnana yoga, the path of knowledge. Each path supports the others, and the Gita presents them as one integrated way of life.
Frequently asked questions
How many chapters and verses are in the Bhagavad Gita?
The Bhagavad Gita has 18 chapters and 700 verses. It forms chapters 23–40 of the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata.
Who speaks the verses of the Gita?
Krishna speaks 574 verses, Arjuna 85, Sanjaya 40 and Dhritarashtra one — the opening verse. The dialogue is narrated by Sanjaya to the blind king Dhritarashtra, and the epic is traditionally attributed to the sage Vyasa.
What is the main message of the Gita?
Act according to your duty without attachment to the results, see the same divine Self in all beings, and offer your life to the Divine in devotion. The Gita weaves together the paths of action (karma), knowledge (jnana) and devotion (bhakti).
When is Gita Jayanti?
Gita Jayanti, the day the Gita is said to have been spoken, is celebrated on Mokshada Ekadashi in the month of Margashirsha — next on Sunday, 20 December 2026.
Sanskrit text: traditional and in the public domain, from Sanskrit Wikisource, cross-checked against our own edition of the key verses. Where printed editions differ (for example 18.66, “tvā” or “tvāṃ”) we follow the Gita Press reading. Translations, summaries and explanations on this site are our own.