Chapter 4, Verse 19
यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः | ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः ||४-१९||
yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāmasaṅkalpavarjitāḥ . jñānāgnidagdhakarmāṇaṃ tamāhuḥ paṇḍitaṃ budhāḥ ||4-19||
Meaning
4.19 He whose undertakings are all devoid of desires and (selfish) purposes and whose actions have been burnt by the fire of knowledge, him the wise call a sage.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna gives a clear mark of the true sage. Every one of his undertakings (samārambhāḥ) is free of kāma-saṅkalpa — desire and the scheming, self-serving intention that usually drives human effort. He acts, but not to gain anything for the ego. Such purity of motive is the outer sign of an inwardly liberated heart.
The vivid image is jñāna-agni-dagdha-karmāṇam — one whose actions have been 'burnt by the fire of knowledge.' Just as fire reduces fuel to ash, the fire of true wisdom consumes the binding power of action. The deeds may still be performed, but they no longer bind, because the false sense of 'I am the doer, I want the fruit' has been burned away. This person, the wise declare, is a true paṇḍita — not learned in words, but realized in being.
💡 Key Takeaway
Act without selfish intent, and the fire of wisdom burns away action's power to bind — this is the mark of a true sage.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम् | विवस्वान्मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत् ||४-१||
śrībhagavānuvāca . imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavānahamavyayam . vivasvānmanave prāha manurikṣvākave.abravīt ||4-1||
4.1 The Blessed Lord said I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvan; he told it to Manu; Manu proclaimed it to Ikshvaku.
एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदुः | स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परन्तप ||४-२||
evaṃ paramparāprāptamimaṃ rājarṣayo viduḥ . sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa ||4-2||
4.2 This, handed down thus in regular succession, the royal sages knew. This Yoga, by long lapse of time, has been lost here, O Parantapa (burner of the foes).
जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः | त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन ||४-९||
janma karma ca me divyamevaṃ yo vetti tattvataḥ . tyaktvā dehaṃ punarjanma naiti māmeti so.arjuna ||4-9||
4.9 He who thus know, in their true light, My divine birth and action, having abandoned the body, is not born again, he comes to Me, O Arjuna.