{
  "chapter": 4,
  "lang": "en",
  "verses": [
    {
      "id": "4.1",
      "translation": "I taught this imperishable yoga to Vivasvan. Vivasvan declared it to Manu, and Manu told it to Ikshvaku.",
      "explanation": "Krishna opens this chapter by tracing the origin of the teaching he has been giving Arjuna. Vivasvan is the sun-god, Manu is the progenitor of humankind, and Ikshvaku is the ancestor of the solar line of kings. Yoga (the disciplined path of union with the divine, here linked to acting with wisdom and without attachment) is called imperishable (avyaya) because its truth does not decay. Commentators differ on whether this yoga means mainly karma-yoga, knowledge-centred yoga, or the whole teaching of the Gita."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.2",
      "translation": "The royal sages knew this yoga, handed down in this way from one to the next. But over a long span of time, O Parantapa, that yoga was lost in this world.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues telling Arjuna how this yoga passed from Vivasvan to Manu to Ikshvaku, and then through the royal sages (rājarṣi), kings who were also seers. He says that over a long time the unbroken line of teaching lapsed. Here yoga means the discipline of selfless action joined with knowledge, which the Gita goes on to teach; commentators differ on whether it stresses karma-yoga or the wider path to liberation. \"Parantapa\", \"scorcher of foes\", is an epithet of Arjuna."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.3",
      "translation": "That same ancient yoga I have taught you today, because you are my devotee and my friend; for this is a supreme secret.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said that this yoga (the discipline of selfless action joined with knowledge) was lost over time. Here he explains why he is restoring it to Arjuna now: Arjuna is his devotee (bhakta) and friend (sakhā). He calls it a supreme secret (rahasya), meaning a teaching that is deep and meant for those ready to receive it."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.4",
      "translation": "Your birth came later; Vivasvan's birth came earlier. How am I to understand that you were the one who taught this at the beginning?",
      "explanation": "Arjuna is puzzled by Krishna's claim in the previous verse that he taught this ancient yoga (spiritual discipline) to Vivasvan, the sun god, at the dawn of time. Krishna was born recently, while Vivasvan lived long before, so Arjuna asks how both can be true. His question leads Krishna to explain divine birth in the following verses."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.5",
      "translation": "Many births of mine have passed, and of yours too, Arjuna. I know them all, but you do not, O scorcher of foes.",
      "explanation": "Arjuna had just asked how Krishna could have taught this yoga to Vivasvan, the sun god, long ago, since Krishna was born much later. Krishna answers that both of them have lived many lives, but only he remembers them all, while Arjuna's memory of past births is veiled. \"Parantapa\" (paraṃtapa), meaning \"scorcher of foes,\" is an epithet of Arjuna."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.6",
      "translation": "Though I am unborn, my self imperishable, and though I am the Lord of all beings, I take charge of my own nature and come into being through my own maya.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just told Arjuna that he remembers all his past births, and now explains how that is possible for one who is unborn and lord of all beings. He says he takes birth by governing his own nature (prakṛti) through his own power (māyā). Traditions differ on this: Advaita readers tend to see his embodiment as an apparent, illusion-like appearance, while devotional schools take it as his real, divine self-manifestation."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.7",
      "translation": "Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises up, O Bharata, then I send myself forth.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said that he is unborn and yet comes into the world through his own nature (prakṛti). Here he says when this happens: whenever dharma, the moral and cosmic order, weakens and its opposite, adharma, grows strong. Traditions differ on this \"sending forth\" (sṛjāmi): Advaita readings take it as an appearance through māyā, while devotional traditions take it as the Lord's real descent (avatāra)."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.8",
      "translation": "To protect the good, to destroy those who do wrong, and to firmly re-establish dharma, I come into being age after age.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues his answer to Arjuna, explaining why he takes birth whenever dharma (moral and cosmic order) declines. He names three purposes: protecting the virtuous (sādhu), removing wrongdoers, and re-establishing dharma. Traditions differ on how to read his \"coming into being\" (sambhavāmi): many devotional schools take it as a real descent (avatāra) of God, while others read it as a manifestation through maya or as the divine appearing within human awareness."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.9",
      "translation": "Whoever truly understands my birth and action as divine in this way, O Arjuna, does not take birth again after leaving the body. That person comes to me.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said he takes birth in age after age to protect the good and restore dharma (moral and cosmic order). Here he says that truly knowing his birth and action as divine, not as ordinary or driven by karma, frees a person from rebirth (punarjanma) and leads to him. Traditions differ on what this \"coming to me\" means, whether union with a personal God or liberation through knowledge, and the verse itself does not settle it."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.10",
      "translation": "Free from desire, fear and anger, absorbed in me and taking refuge in me, many people, purified by the austerity of knowledge, have come to my own state of being.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues from the previous verse, where he said that knowing his divine birth and action truly frees one from rebirth. Here he points out that many have already reached him, by dropping desire or attachment (rāga), fear (bhaya) and anger (krodha), and by being purified through the austerity of knowledge (jñāna-tapas), a compound some also read as \"knowledge and austerity\". \"My state of being\" (madbhāva) is read by some traditions as likeness or union with the Lord, and by others as loving nearness to him."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.11",
      "translation": "However people approach me, I respond to them in just that way. O Partha, people follow my path in every way.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just spoken of those freed from desire, fear and anger who have taken refuge in him. Here he says he meets each person according to the spirit in which they turn to him; the word for his response (bhajāmi) suggests reciprocal love or devotion. Whatever path people take, they are in effect following his way. Traditions differ on the point: some read it as God's even-handed grace, while others stress that it shows each seeker's own intent shaping the result."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.12",
      "translation": "Those who long for success in their actions worship the gods here, for in the human world, success born of action comes quickly.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining to Arjuna why people turn to different deities: they want results from their actions (karma), and such results come quickly in the human world. This follows the previous verse, where he says he responds to people in the way they approach him. Some commentators read this as a gentle contrast with the higher goal of liberation, while others read it simply as a statement that such worship does bear fruit."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.13",
      "translation": "I created the fourfold order of society, divided according to the gunas and to work. Though I am its maker, know me to be a non-doer, and changeless.",
      "explanation": "Krishna explains to Arjuna that he is the source of the fourfold order (cāturvarṇya), a division of people by their qualities (guṇa) and their work (karma). Many traditional commentators read this as a division based on temperament and aptitude, while others have understood it as tied to birth; the verse itself says it is based on guṇa and karma. Though Krishna is the creator, he remains the non-doer (akartā) and changeless, untouched by action, which prepares for the next verse."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.14",
      "translation": "Actions do not taint me, and I have no craving for the fruit of action. One who knows me in this way is not bound by actions.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said he is the source of the four social divisions yet is himself a non-doer (akartā). Here he explains why: actions do not stain him, because he has no desire (spṛhā) for their results. He adds that whoever understands this and acts in the same spirit is not bound by karma (action and its consequences)."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.15",
      "translation": "Knowing this, even the ancient seekers of liberation performed action. So you too should simply act, as those before you did in earlier times.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said that actions do not bind him because he has no craving for their results. Here he tells Arjuna that earlier seekers of liberation (mumukṣu) understood this and still acted, so Arjuna should do his own action (karma) too. Traditions stress different points: Advaita readers see action done with knowledge as purifying the mind, while devotional and karma-yoga readings see action itself as the path."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.16",
      "translation": "\"What is action, and what is non-action?\" On this, even the wise are bewildered. So I will explain to you that action, knowing which you will be freed from what is inauspicious.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is teaching Arjuna about action (karma) and why he should act rather than withdraw. He says that even the wise (kavayaḥ) are confused about what counts as action and what counts as non-action (akarma). He promises to clarify this, so that Arjuna can be freed from the \"inauspicious\", which is usually read as the bondage of rebirth and suffering."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.17",
      "translation": "There is something to understand about action, something to understand about wrong action, and something to understand about non-action. The course of action is hard to fathom.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just promised to explain action (karma) so that Arjuna can be freed from harm. Here he says three things must be understood: right action, wrong or forbidden action (vikarma), and non-action (akarma). He adds that the way action works is deep and subtle. Traditions differ on what akarma means, for example inaction, or action done without attachment to its results."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.18",
      "translation": "One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is wise among human beings. That person is disciplined in yoga, and is a doer of all action.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues explaining how hard it is to understand action (karma). Seeing \"inaction in action\" means recognizing that a person who acts without attachment to results (saṅga) is not bound by what they do, while \"action in inaction\" means that mere idleness or withdrawal can still be driven by desire and ego. Traditions differ slightly: Advaita readings stress the Self (ātman) as actionless, while devotional and karma-yoga readings stress acting without attachment."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.19",
      "translation": "One whose every undertaking is free from desire and willful intention, and whose actions have been burned away in the fire of knowledge — the wise call such a person a sage.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person who sees inaction within action and action within inaction. Such a person still acts, but without craving (kāma) or the self-centered planning for results (saṅkalpa). Their actions are \"burned\" by knowledge (jñāna), meaning they no longer bind. Commentators differ on whether this knowledge is mainly self-realization or discernment in acting, but all agree it frees action from attachment."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.20",
      "translation": "Having given up attachment to the fruits of action, always content, depending on nothing, such a person does nothing at all, even while fully engaged in action.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the wise person who acts without being bound by action. Such a person has dropped attachment to results (phala-saṅga), is inwardly content (nitya-tṛpta), and does not lean on outside support (nirāśraya). Commentators differ on nirāśraya: some take it as freedom from dependence on worldly supports, others as not relying on any claim of doership or reward. Either way, the person acts, yet is not bound by the action."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.21",
      "translation": "Free of expectations, with mind and self held in check, having given up all possessions, he performs action with the body alone and incurs no fault.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person who acts without being bound by action. Such a person has no craving for results (āśīḥ), has a disciplined mind, and does not cling to possessions (parigraha), so they act only as the body requires. Commentators differ on \"action with the body alone\": some take it as bare necessary activity like eating and living, others as action done without the sense of being the doer. Either way, no sin or bondage (kilbiṣa) results."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.22",
      "translation": "Content with whatever comes to him by chance, beyond the pairs of opposites, free from envy, and the same in success and failure, he is not bound even though he acts.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person who acts without being bound by action (karma). Such a person is content with what comes unasked (yadṛcchā-lābha), is untouched by pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain (dvandva), and stays even-minded in success and failure. Because there is no envy or craving behind the action, it leaves no binding result."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.23",
      "translation": "For one who is free of attachment, who is liberated, whose mind is steady in knowledge, and who performs action for the sake of sacrifice, all action melts away completely.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the person who acts without being bound by the results. Such a person is free of attachment (saṅga), steady in knowledge (jñāna), and treats action as a sacrifice (yajña), meaning an offering made without selfish aim. For them, action leaves no binding consequence and dissolves. Traditions differ on whether the sacrifice here is ritual duty or any selfless action, and this verse prepares for the next one."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.24",
      "translation": "The act of offering is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, poured by Brahman into the fire that is Brahman. Brahman alone is reached by one who is absorbed in action that is Brahman.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said that work done as sacrifice (yajña) leaves no binding trace on one who is free from attachment. Here he describes that sacrifice: the act of offering (which some commentators take as the ladle used to offer), the oblation, the fire and the one who offers are all seen as Brahman, the ultimate reality. Whoever is fully absorbed in this vision of action reaches Brahman. Advaita readers take it as the non-duality of all things, while devotional traditions read it as seeing everything as belonging to and sustained by the Divine."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.25",
      "translation": "Some yogis devote themselves only to sacrifice offered to the gods. Others offer the sacrifice itself, by means of sacrifice, into the fire of Brahman.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just described the sacrifice (yajña) in which every part of the act is seen as Brahman. Now he lists different kinds of sacrifice that practitioners follow, beginning with ritual offerings to the gods (deva) and then a subtler kind. The second line is read in different ways: Advaita commentators take it as offering the self into Brahman, while others take it as offering one act of worship through another as worship of the Divine."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.26",
      "translation": "Some offer the senses, such as hearing, into the fires of self-restraint. Others offer sound and the other objects of the senses into the fires of the senses themselves.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his list of different kinds of sacrifice (yajña), here describing inner disciplines instead of ritual fire offerings. In the first, a person restrains the senses (saṃyama) so that they stop reaching outward. In the second, the person lets sense objects like sound enter the senses, but treats this as an offering and does not respond with craving or aversion. Commentators differ on how the two relate, with some reading them as withdrawal versus mindful, non-attached engagement, but all take both as forms of self-discipline."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.27",
      "translation": "Others offer all the actions of the senses, and the actions of the vital breath as well, into the fire of the yoga of self-control, kindled by knowledge.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is listing different kinds of sacrifice (yajña), meaning disciplined offerings that purify the practitioner. Here the offering is every sensory action and every function of the vital breath (prāṇa), placed into the inner fire of self-control (saṃyama) lit by knowledge (jñāna). Commentators differ on whether this describes a meditative withdrawal of the senses and breath, or a broader inner discipline of the whole life."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.28",
      "translation": "Some make an offering of material things, some of austerity, and others of yoga; others again make an offering of scriptural study and of knowledge — all of them striving ascetics, firm in their vows.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his list of the many kinds of sacrifice (yajña), meaning disciplined acts of offering, that people practise. Here he names giving of wealth (dravya), austerity (tapas), yoga, and the study of scripture (svādhyāya) along with the pursuit of knowledge (jñāna). The common thread is that each is done with strict commitment (vrata), as a way of offering oneself."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.29",
      "translation": "Others offer prana into apana, and apana into prana. Stopping the movement of both, they devote themselves to breath control.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his list of different kinds of sacrifice (yajña), meaning disciplined practices offered as worship. Here he describes breath-control practitioners. They offer the outgoing breath (prāṇa) into the incoming breath (apāna) and the reverse, then hold both still in the discipline of prāṇāyāma, or breath regulation. Traditions differ on how to read the terms prāṇa and apāna and the order of the breaths, but most take the verse as describing a real yogic breathing practice."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.30",
      "translation": "Others, restraining their food, offer their life-breaths into the life-breaths. All of these are knowers of sacrifice, and their faults are destroyed by sacrifice.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is listing the many kinds of sacrifice (yajña), meaning disciplined acts of offering, that people practise. Here he adds those who moderate their eating and offer one life-breath (prāṇa) into other breaths, a form of breath and food discipline. He says that all these practitioners understand sacrifice and are cleansed of their impurities (kalmaṣa) through it. Commentators differ on the exact practice: some read it as a technical yogic breath exercise, others as a general image of self-restraint."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.31",
      "translation": "Those who eat the nectar left over from sacrifice reach the eternal Brahman. For one who offers no sacrifice, not even this world is his, so how could another be, O best of the Kurus?",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his description of the many kinds of sacrifice (yajña), here speaking to Arjuna, the best of the Kurus. He says that those who live on what remains after sacrifice, meaning what is left after giving and duty are done, attain eternal Brahman, while one who gives nothing back has no stable life here, let alone beyond. Commentators differ on whether the \"remnant\" (yajña-śiṣṭa) is literal food offered first to the gods, or the fruit of knowledge and disciplined action; the verse supports either reading."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.32",
      "translation": "In this way, many kinds of sacrifice are spread out at the mouth of Brahman. Know them all to be born of action; knowing this, you will be set free.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just described many kinds of sacrifice (yajña), from ritual offerings to discipline of the senses and breath. Here he says all of them are laid out \"at the mouth of Brahman\", a phrase often read as the Vedas or as Brahman itself receiving the offering. They all arise from action (karma), and understanding this is said to free Arjuna from the binding effect of action."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.33",
      "translation": "Better than a sacrifice of material things, O scorcher of foes, is the sacrifice of knowledge. For all action without exception, O Partha, culminates in knowledge.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just listed many kinds of sacrifice (yajña), the ritual offerings and disciplines that make up a life of action (karma). Here he ranks the sacrifice of knowledge (jñāna-yajña) above sacrifices made with material offerings, because every action finds its fulfilment in knowledge. Traditions differ on what this knowledge is: some read it as realisation of the Self, others as understanding that makes action selfless and devoted."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.34",
      "translation": "Learn this by bowing down, by asking questions and by serving. Those who know, who have seen the truth, will teach you that knowledge.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just said that the sacrifice of knowledge (jñāna-yajña) is higher than ritual offerings of material things. Here he tells Arjuna how to gain such knowledge: through humble respect (praṇipāta), sincere questioning (paripraśna) and service (sevā) to teachers who have directly seen the truth (tattva-darśin). Traditions differ on who counts as such a teacher, but all stress that learning needs humility and honest inquiry, not just passive listening."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.35",
      "translation": "Once you have understood this, O son of Pandu, you will not fall into such confusion again. By it you will see all beings without exception in yourself, and then in me.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is telling Arjuna what the knowledge taught by wise teachers in the previous verse will give him. It will end his bewilderment (moha), the confusion that left him paralysed about his duty. He will see all beings as within his own self (ātman) and in Krishna. Commentators differ on whether this points to the oneness of the self with the Absolute or to all beings resting in God."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.36",
      "translation": "Even if you are the worst wrongdoer of all wrongdoers, you will cross over all sin by the raft of knowledge alone.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is encouraging Arjuna by saying that knowledge (jñāna) of the Self and the divine is so powerful that no past wrongdoing can block it. He compares knowledge to a raft that carries one across the ocean of sin or suffering (vṛjina). Advaita traditions take this knowledge as liberating self-realization, while devotional traditions stress knowledge joined with surrender to Krishna."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.37",
      "translation": "Just as a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so the fire of knowledge turns all actions to ashes.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues telling Arjuna about the power of knowledge (jñāna), using the image of a fire reducing wood to ash. Knowledge here burns away the binding effects of actions (karma), meaning the bonds of past deeds and the pull of results. Traditions differ on what this knowledge is: Advaita readings take it as knowledge of the Self, while devotional and yoga-centered readings stress knowledge joined with selfless action or devotion."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.38",
      "translation": "Truly, nothing in this world purifies like knowledge. One who has become perfected in yoga discovers it for oneself, in the self, in due time.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just compared knowledge to a fire that burns up the results of actions, and here he calls it the supreme purifier. The one \"perfected in yoga\" (yoga-saṃsiddha), meaning disciplined in the path of selfless action and meditation, finds this knowledge within the self (ātman) over time. Traditions differ on the \"yoga\" involved: some stress karma-yoga as the preparation for knowledge, others see a wider discipline of life and meditation."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.39",
      "translation": "Knowledge is gained by one who has faith, who is intent on it and has mastered the senses; and having gained knowledge, that person soon reaches supreme peace.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues praising knowledge (jñāna) in his teaching to Arjuna. He names three qualities needed to gain it: faith (śraddhā), devotion to the pursuit (tatparaḥ), and restraint of the senses (saṁyatendriyaḥ). The result is supreme peace (śānti), and it comes quickly. Traditions differ on whether \"it\" in \"devoted to it\" means the teacher, the knowledge itself, or the Lord."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.40",
      "translation": "The one who is ignorant, has no faith and is full of doubt is lost. For the doubter there is neither this world nor the next, nor any happiness.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just praised the faithful, self-controlled seeker who gains knowledge and peace. Here he warns of the opposite: someone who lacks understanding and trust, and whose mind is stuck in doubt (saṃśaya), loses out both in this life and after it, and finds no happiness. Many commentators read this as a warning against chronic, paralyzing doubt rather than honest questioning, though traditions differ on how much faith (śraddhā) it asks for."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.41",
      "translation": "Actions do not bind a person who has renounced action through yoga, whose doubts have been cut away by knowledge, and who is established in the self, O Dhananjaya.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is speaking to Arjuna, rounding off his teaching on action and knowledge, just after warning that doubt destroys a person. Here he describes the freed person: one who has set action aside through yoga, whose doubts are cut by knowledge (jñāna), and who is grounded in the self (ātman). Such a person still acts, but action no longer binds them. Traditions differ on whether this 'renunciation' is of attachment to the results of action, as in the karma-yoga reading, or of action itself, as in the Advaita reading."
    },
    {
      "id": "4.42",
      "translation": "Therefore, with the sword of knowledge, cut away this doubt about the self, born of ignorance and lodged in your heart. Take your stand in yoga and rise, O descendant of Bharata.",
      "explanation": "Krishna closes the fourth chapter by speaking to Arjuna, who is paralysed by doubt about whether to fight. He tells him to use knowledge (jñāna) as a sword to cut through doubt (saṁśaya), which is born of ignorance (ajñāna) and lodged in the heart, then to take up yoga and stand up for the battle in front of him. Traditions differ on whether this yoga mainly means karma-yoga, disciplined action without attachment to its results, or a path in which knowledge of the self is central, as in Advaita readings."
    }
  ]
}