Life becomes yoga through offering.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् |यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ||९-२७||
yatkaroṣi yadaśnāsi yajjuhoṣi dadāsi yat . yattapasyasi kaunteya tatkuruṣva madarpaṇam ||9-27||
Use this verse to convert daily life into devotion.
Meaning
Whatever you do, eat, offer, give, or practice as austerity, O Kaunteya, do it as an offering to Me.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Make every action an offering to Krishna.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
This verse turns daily life into devotion. Eating, working, giving, worshipping, and discipline can all become Krishna-centered.
Read the traditional commentary
Building on the previous verse, Krishna now expands the principle of offering from the ritual altar to the whole of life. Whatever you do, eat, sacrifice, give, or undertake as austerity — let it all be mad-arpanam, an offering unto the Divine. The sacred is no longer confined to temple or ceremony; the entire span of daily living becomes worship.
This is the practical genius of the Gita's bhakti. One need not abandon the world to be spiritual; one need only transform the spirit in which the world is met. Eating, working, giving — each ordinary act, when offered to God, is lifted into the sacred.
This dissolves the false split between the holy and the mundane. By a simple inner gesture of dedication, the most routine activities become a continuous, living prayer, and one's whole existence is quietly sanctified.
In daily life
Before important actions, dedicate them to Krishna.
A founder can offer meetings, meals, and decisions to Krishna.
Try this today
Before one meal or task, say this is for Krishna.
I offer all actions to Krishna.Reflect
What daily action can become Krishna offering?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘मदर्पणम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on daily life, in other chapters
- Verse 17.7Even the most ordinary choices — like what you eat — carry a spiritual quality; refine the everyday, and you refine yourself.
- Verse 4.23When work is offered as sacrifice by a mind rooted in wisdom, it dissolves without leaving any binding trace.
- Verse 3.30Offer your actions to the Divine, release craving and anxiety, and you can act decisively even under pressure with an untroubled heart.
- Verse 5.29Know the Divine as the Lord of all and the loving friend of your own heart — that recognition is the doorway to lasting peace.
Swipe left for 9.28 · Offering breaks result-bondage.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 9.27
Who says Bhagavad Gita 9.27, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 9.27, in Chapter 9, Raja Vidya Yoga (Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 9.27 mean?
Whatever you do, eat, offer, give, or practice as austerity, O Kaunteya, do it as an offering to Me. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 9.27 for daily life?
Before important actions, dedicate them to Krishna. A founder can offer meetings, meals, and decisions to Krishna.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 9.27 mean?
यत् करोषि — whatever you do; यत् अश्नासि — whatever you eat; यत् जुहोषि — whatever you offer in sacrifice; ददासि यत् — whatever you give; यत् तपस्यसि — whatever austerity you practise.
Where does verse 9.27 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 27 of 34 in Chapter 9, Raja Vidya Yoga. The next verse is 9.28.