Shloka 18.56
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
सर्वकर्माण्यपि सदा कुर्वाणो मद्व्यपाश्रयः |मत्प्रसादादवाप्नोति शाश्वतं पदमव्ययम् ||१८-५६||
sarvakarmāṇyapi sadā kurvāṇo madvyapāśrayaḥ . matprasādādavāpnoti śāśvataṃ padamavyayam ||18-56||
Meaning
Relying on Me in all his action and doing them for My sake, he attains, by My Grace, Eternal and Unchangeable Life.
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 offers profound reassurance. One may be engaged in all manner of actions, fully active in the world, yet by taking refuge in Him — mad-vyapashrayah — that person attains by His grace the eternal, imperishable state.
This dissolves any lingering fear that worldly life and liberation are incompatible. Activity is no barrier; the key is the inner refuge and the divine grace (prasada) that responds to it. The busy worker who keeps the heart anchored in God reaches the same eternal goal as the meditating recluse.
Liberation here is not earned by works alone but received as grace by the surrendered soul, transforming a life of action into a continual movement toward the Imperishable.
In daily life
Even amid ceaseless activity, taking refuge in the Divine brings, by grace, the eternal imperishable state.
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What does ‘शाश्वतं पदम् अव्ययम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on refuge, in other chapters
- Verse 4.10Release attachment, fear, and anger; let knowledge purify you — and union with the divine becomes not rare but attainable.
- Verse 7.14You cannot out-think illusion with the very mind it deludes — but wholehearted refuge in the Divine carries you across.
- Verse 14.2When you anchor your identity in the eternal rather than the changing, neither beginnings nor endings can shake you.
- Verse 15.4After releasing what binds you, seek refuge in the eternal source from which all life flows.
Swipe left for 18.57 · Offer all your actions to the Divine in your heart and keep your mind constantly fixed on it.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.56
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.56, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.56, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.56 mean?
Relying on Me in all his action and doing them for My sake, he attains, by My Grace, Eternal and Unchangeable Life. (Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.56 for daily life?
Even amid ceaseless activity, taking refuge in the Divine brings, by grace, the eternal imperishable state.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.56 mean?
सर्वकर्माणि अपि सदा — though always doing all actions; कुर्वाणः — performing; मद्व्यपाश्रयः — taking refuge in Me; मत्प्रसादात् — by My grace; अवाप्नोति — attains.
Where does verse 18.56 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 56 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.57.