Sacred action connects daily life with the divine order.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम् |तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् ||३-१५||
karma brahmodbhavaṃ viddhi brahmākṣarasamudbhavam . tasmātsarvagataṃ brahma nityaṃ yajñe pratiṣṭhitam ||3-15||
Use this verse when ordinary duties feel spiritually small.
Meaning
Know that action arises from Brahman, and Brahman arises from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading Brahman is eternally established in yajna.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Yajna is not merely ritual; it is rooted in the deepest order of reality.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna completes the yajna-cycle by connecting action to Brahman and the Imperishable. This makes ordinary responsibility sacred. When action is aligned with yajna, it participates in divine order. Work, food, service, family care, and ethical business are not separate from spirituality; they can become expressions of Brahman-centered living.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna lifts the wheel of life to its ultimate source. Action springs from Brahman — the creative principle and the eternal teaching — and Brahman itself arises from the akshara, the Imperishable Absolute. The chain of sustenance is thus rooted not merely in nature but in the divine ground of all being.
The conclusion is luminous: the all-pervading Brahman is eternally present in yajna, in the act of sacrifice. This means that selfless action is not a mundane affair but a meeting point with the sacred. When we perform our duty in the spirit of offering, we participate in a divine order that reaches back to the very source of existence.
Action, far from being a fall from grace, becomes a form of worship — a way the eternal expresses and sustains itself through us.
In daily life
See your duties as part of a larger sacred order.
A parent preparing food, a teacher guiding students, or a founder serving users can all act as yajna.
Try this today
Choose one ordinary task and perform it today as sacred offering.
My daily action can become sacred offering.Reflect
How can I make my daily work part of a sacred order?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘ब्रह्म अक्षरसमुद्भवम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on worship, in other chapters
- Verse 4.25Sacrifice takes many forms — from outward ritual to the inner offering of the ego — and every sincere one is a path of worship.
- Verse 9.24Sincere devotion reaches the Divine, but it is true knowledge of that Divine that finally sets us free.
- Verse 7.7Behind the scattered jewels of life runs one hidden thread of the Divine — learn to feel the cord, not just the beads.
- Verse 6.31Once rooted in oneness and devotion, you abide in the Divine through every activity of daily life.
Swipe left for 3.16 · Consumption without contribution makes life spiritually empty.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 3.15
Who says Bhagavad Gita 3.15, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 3.15, in Chapter 3, Karma Yoga (Karma Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 3.15 mean?
Know that action arises from Brahman, and Brahman arises from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading Brahman is eternally established in yajna. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 3.15 for daily life?
See your duties as part of a larger sacred order. A parent preparing food, a teacher guiding students, or a founder serving users can all act as yajna.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 3.15 mean?
कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवम् विद्धि — know action to arise from Brahma (the Veda/Creator); ब्रह्म अक्षरसमुद्भवम् — Brahma arises from the Imperishable; तस्मात् — therefore; सर्वगतम् ब्रह्म — the all-pervading Brahma; नित्यम् यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् — is ever established in sacrifice.
Where does verse 3.15 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 15 of 43 in Chapter 3, Karma Yoga. The next verse is 3.16.