Shloka 18.41
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप |कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणैः ||१८-४१||
brāhmaṇakṣatriyaviśāṃ śūdrāṇāṃ ca parantapa . karmāṇi pravibhaktāni svabhāvaprabhavairguṇaiḥ ||18-41||
Meaning
O Arjuna! The duties of spiritual teachers, the soldiers, the traders and the servants have all been fixed according to the dominant Quality in their nature.
Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.
Word-by-word meaning
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Explanation
Krishna now turns to svadharma, one's own duty, and explains that the classical fourfold ordering of human work is rooted in svabhava — innate nature — as shaped by the gunas. The duties of the thoughtful, the protective, the productive, and the serving each arise from a person's natural temperament and capacities.
The deeper teaching is not about rigid social hierarchy but about the dignity of acting in harmony with one's own nature. Each person carries a distinctive blend of the gunas that makes certain work natural and fulfilling. Rather than envying another's role, the wise discover and embrace the path their own constitution fits, for it is there that effort flows and growth becomes possible.
In daily life
Your truest work flows from your own innate nature, not from imitating someone else's role.
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What does ‘ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on svadharma, in other chapters
- Verse 2.31Identify the duty that arises from your deepest nature and role, then perform it fully — hesitation at that threshold is a form of self-betrayal.
- Verse 3.8Since you cannot even sustain your body without acting, embrace your rightful duty rather than chasing the illusion of inaction.
- Verse 5.8Rest in the witnessing Self: let life's activities flow while inwardly knowing 'I am not the doer.'
- Verse 7.2Seek the knowing that is also realised in experience, for that alone leaves nothing essential still to be sought.
Swipe left for 18.42 · The life of wisdom is built on serenity, self-restraint, purity, forgiveness, and faith.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.41
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.41, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.41, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.41 mean?
O Arjuna! The duties of spiritual teachers, the soldiers, the traders and the servants have all been fixed according to the dominant Quality in their nature. (Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.41 for daily life?
Your truest work flows from your own innate nature, not from imitating someone else's role.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.41 mean?
ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां — of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas; शूद्राणां च — and of Sudras; परन्तप — O scorcher of foes; कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि — the duties are distributed; स्वभावप्रभवैः गुणैः — by the qualities born of their own nature.
Where does verse 18.41 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 41 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.42.