Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 16, Verse 24
तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ।ज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुमिहार्हसि।।
tasmāc cchāstraṁ pramāṇaṁ te kāryākārya-vyavasthitau
jñātvā śāstra-vidhānoktaṁ karma kartum ihārhasi
also searched as "tasmac chastram pramanam te karyakarya-vyavasthitau"
Translation
Therefore, let the Sastra be your authority for determining what should be done and what should not be done. Knowing what is enjoined in the injunctions of the Sastra, you should perform work here.
Vāṇi's rendering
So let scripture be your measure of what to do and what to leave. Learn what it teaches — then act.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तस्मात्tasmāt | therefore (appears as tasmāc before śāstram by sandhi) |
| शास्त्रम्śāstram | scripture, the received teaching |
| प्रमाणम्pramāṇam | the measure, the authority |
| तेte | for you |
| कार्य-अकार्यkārya-akārya | what is to be done and what is not to be done (joined as kāryākārya) |
| व्यवस्थितौvyavasthitau | in the settling, in the deciding between |
| ज्ञात्वाjñātvā | having learned, having come to know |
| शास्त्र-विधान-उक्तम्śāstra-vidhāna-uktam | what is spoken in the ordinance of scripture (joined as śāstra-vidhānoktaṁ) |
| कर्मkarma | work, action |
| कर्तुम्kartum | to do, to perform |
| इहiha | here, in this world (joined with arhasi as ihārhasi) |
| अर्हसिarhasi | you are fit, it falls to you |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 Verse 24 mean?
It hands Arjuna a measure he did not invent. After describing men ruled by appetite, Krishna says: let śāstra decide what is to be done and what is to be left. Learn what it teaches, then act. The verse trusts a standard held outside the self more than it trusts the self's own reasons.
What does tasmac chastram pramanam te mean?
Pramāṇa is a measure — the thing you hold a claim against to see if it is true. Krishna makes śāstra that measure for Arjuna in questions of kārya and akārya, action and non-action. Not a whip, not a mood. A ruler you did not carve, so you cannot quietly shorten it.
Why does Krishna tell Arjuna to follow scripture when he later says to abandon all rules?
Because rules are the raft, not the shore. Here Arjuna still needs a measure outside his own wanting, and the Gītā gives him one plainly. What comes later in chapter eighteen is not a contradiction but a release, offered to someone who has already learned to stand. You do not put down what you never picked up.
How do I apply this verse if I do not study scripture?
The verse's logic survives translation: your desire cannot be the judge of your desire. Find a standard you did not author — a teaching, a vow, a person whose seriousness you trust — and consult it before the wanting speaks. Learn it in calm hours. It is no use to you discovered in the middle of temptation.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Chapter sixteen has just described the man who takes his own craving for a compass. Against that, Krishna sets something outside the self: śāstra. Not because you are untrustworthy, but because desire is a poor witness in its own case — it will always find a reason. So the measure is placed where you cannot bend it. And notice what Krishna asks: learn first, then act. Not act and justify afterward. Arjuna wanted a rule he could feel his way toward. He is given one he must go and study. When you next want something badly, ask what you knew before you wanted it.