Skip to content
Chapter 18 · Verse 3
🪈 Krishna speaks
Illustration for Chapter 18, Verse 3

त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिणः। यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यमिति चापरे॥

tyājyaṁ doṣavadityeke karma prāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ | yajñadānatapaḥkarma na tyājyamiti cāpare ||

Word by Word 12 words
त्याज्यम्
tyaj to let go, to give up

to be given up, fit to be abandoned

दोषवत्
doṣa fault, flaw vat like, having

as a fault, because it is full of flaws

इति
iti thus, so

thus, so (it marks the end of what someone says)

एके
eka one

some, one group of people

कर्म
kṛ to do, to act

action, work

प्राहुः
pra forth ah to say, to declare

they say, they declare

मनीषिणः
manas mind īṣ to rule, to master

the thoughtful ones, the deep thinkers

यज्ञदानतपःकर्म
yajña sacrifice, worship dāna giving, charity tapas austerity, self-discipline kṛ to do, to act

the actions of sacrifice, giving, and self-discipline

न
na not

not

त्याज्यम्
tyaj to let go, to give up

to be given up

च
ca and

and

अपरे
apara other

others, another group

shows that even wise people disagree about this. "Some deep thinkers say that all action should be given up, because every action has some fault in it, like a smudge on clean cloth. But others, also wise, say no, the good actions of sacrifice, giving, and self-discipline must never be given up; those, at least, we should always keep doing." He sets both opinions side by side, so Arjuna can see the puzzle before hearing the answer.

कथा

The Argument Under the Banyan Tree

From the mythological

Long ago, beneath an enormous banyan tree whose roots hung down like a forest of ropes, a group of sages gathered to settle a question. They came from far hermitages, their beards white, their eyes bright, and they could not agree.

"Action is the trouble," said the first sage, tapping the earth with his staff. "Every deed leaves a mark. Light a fire and you make smoke. Walk the road and you crush the ants beneath your feet. Even the kindest act has a hidden cost somewhere. Since no action is ever perfectly clean, the safest path is to give up all action, the way one would refuse a fruit that has a worm inside."

Several sages nodded gravely. But a second sage rose, and he shook his head.

"If we give up all action," he said, "do we also give up feeding the hungry? Do we stop the sacred fire that the whole village gathers around? Do we cease our prayers, our gifts to the poor, our quiet discipline at dawn? Surely not! These actions, sacrifice, giving, and self-discipline, are the very ones that make a person purer, not dirtier. To abandon them would be like throwing away the broom because the floor keeps getting dusty."

Now other sages nodded too, and the grove filled with voices, some on one side, some on the other, until the parrots in the banyan flew off in alarm.

Far away, on a quiet battlefield, told of this very disagreement. "You see," he said, "even the wise stand on two sides of this question. One group says: action is flawed, let it all go. Another says: never let go of the good and holy actions. I tell you both, Arjuna, so that you know the question is real, and not a small one. Hear them both, and then I will tell you what I myself have decided is true."

listened, and for once he was glad he was not the only one who had ever been confused. Even great sages, he saw, could stand under the same tree and reach for different fruit.

चिन्तनम्

When two people you respect disagree, how do you decide who is right? Is it ever helpful to hear both sides fully before making up your mind?