Even mental and verbal actions have causes.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
शरीरवाङ्मनोभिर्यत्कर्म प्रारभते नरः |न्याय्यं वा विपरीतं वा पञ्चैते तस्य हेतवः ||१८-१५||
śarīravāṅmanobhiryatkarma prārabhate naraḥ . nyāyyaṃ vā viparītaṃ vā pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ ||18-15||
Use this verse after a difficult reaction.
Meaning
Whatever action a person begins through body, speech, or mind, whether right or wrong, these five are its causes.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
All actions of body, speech, and mind arise through multiple causes.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna applies the five-cause model to every action, good or wrong. This helps people analyze decisions without ego-simplification while still maintaining responsibility.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna universalizes the principle: whatever a person does through body, speech, or mind — whether righteous or wrong — these same five factors are always its causes. No deed escapes this structure. Even our errors and our virtues arise from the interplay of body, ego, senses, effort, and the divine.
The lesson is both humbling and freeing. It tempers pride in our successes and self-condemnation over our failures, since neither is the work of an isolated ego. At the same time it does not erase responsibility; the doer remains one of the five. The teaching invites a balanced self-understanding: engaged, accountable, yet free of inflated self-importance.
In daily life
Before judging any action, understand its causes and take responsibility for your part.
A harsh message may arise from stress, habit, device speed, mood, and ego, but responsibility still remains.
Try this today
Analyze one action through body, speech, mind, and five causes.
I understand causes and take responsibility wisely.Reflect
What caused my recent body, speech, or mind action?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘प्रारभते’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on responsibility, in other chapters
- Verse 3.8Since you cannot even sustain your body without acting, embrace your rightful duty rather than chasing the illusion of inaction.
- Verse 6.5You are your own best friend or worst enemy — choose to lift yourself rather than let your lower impulses pull you down.
- Verse 8.26Two paths lie ever open before us, toward light or toward return; how we live decides which one we travel.
- Verse 4.34Wisdom is earned through humility, sincere questioning, and service — approach those who have truly realized the truth.
Swipe left for 18.16 · Egoic doership is poor seeing.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.15
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.15, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.15, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.15 mean?
Whatever action a person begins through body, speech, or mind, whether right or wrong, these five are its causes. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.15 for daily life?
Before judging any action, understand its causes and take responsibility for your part. A harsh message may arise from stress, habit, device speed, mood, and ego, but responsibility still remains.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.15 mean?
शरीरवाङ्मनोभिः — with body, speech and mind; यत् कर्म — whatever action; प्रारभते — undertakes / begins; नरः — a person; न्याय्यं वा — whether right.
Where does verse 18.15 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 15 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.16.