Different practices can share the same purpose: purification.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
दैवमेवापरे यज्ञं योगिनः पर्युपासते |ब्रह्माग्नावपरे यज्ञं यज्ञेनैवोपजुह्वति ||४-२५||
daivamevāpare yajñaṃ yoginaḥ paryupāsate . brahmāgnāvapare yajñaṃ yajñenaivopajuhvati ||4-25||
Use this verse when choosing your spiritual practice style.
Meaning
Some yogis worship through divine yajna; others offer the self itself as sacrifice into the fire of Brahman.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
There are different forms of spiritual offering.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna now begins listing many kinds of yajna. Not all seekers practice in the same way. Some worship divine forms; others practice contemplative offering into Brahman. The common principle is sacrifice of ego and purification of consciousness.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna now begins a remarkable survey of the many forms of yajña — sacrifice — showing that worship takes countless shapes. Some yogis perform outward ritual sacrifice to the devas, the gods who govern nature. Others, more inwardly advanced, offer the very self as an offering into the fire of Brahman — a sacrifice of meditation in which the individual dissolves into the absolute.
The contrast is between external and internal sacrifice. The ritualist offers ghee and grain to deities; the contemplative offers his own limited selfhood into the boundless reality. Both are honored as paths of yajña.
By presenting this spectrum, Krishna broadens the meaning of sacrifice far beyond fire-altars: any sincere act of giving up the lesser for the higher, whether outward or inward, is a form of worship that purifies and elevates.
In daily life
Choose a form of practice that purifies ego and deepens awareness.
One person may prefer mantra worship; another may prefer silent contemplation.
Try this today
Choose one practice: prayer, meditation, service, study, or restraint.
My practice becomes offering when ego softens.Reflect
Which form of offering fits my nature today?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘दैवम् एव’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on worship, in other chapters
- Verse 3.15Selfless action connects you to the divine source of all things — your work, offered rightly, becomes a form of worship.
- Verse 13.25There are many authentic paths to the Self — meditation, knowledge, and selfless action all lead home.
- Verse 9.24Sincere devotion reaches the Divine, but it is true knowledge of that Divine that finally sets us free.
- Verse 5.21Stop chasing pleasure in external things and turn within — the Self holds an inexhaustible joy that nothing can take away.
Swipe left for 4.26 · Sense use can be sacred or binding.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 4.25
Who says Bhagavad Gita 4.25, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 4.25, in Chapter 4, Jnana Karma Sannyas Yoga (Jnana Karma Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 4.25 mean?
Some yogis worship through divine yajna; others offer the self itself as sacrifice into the fire of Brahman. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 4.25 for daily life?
Choose a form of practice that purifies ego and deepens awareness. One person may prefer mantra worship; another may prefer silent contemplation.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 4.25 mean?
दैवम् एव — to the gods alone; अपरे — some, others; यज्ञम् — sacrifice; योगिनः — yogis; पर्युपासते — perform, worship.
Where does verse 4.25 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 25 of 42 in Chapter 4, Jnana Karma Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 4.26.