Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 25
तदित्यनभिसन्धाय फलं यज्ञतपःक्रियाः।दानक्रियाश्च विविधाः क्रियन्ते मोक्षकाङ्क्षि।।
tad ity anabhisandhāya phalaṁ yajña-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ
dāna-kriyāś ca vividhāḥ kriyante mokṣa-kāṅkṣibhiḥ
also searched as "tad ity anabhisandhaya phalam yajna-tapah-kriyah"
Translation
Acts of sacrifice, austerity, and various gifts are performed without aiming at a reward by those who seek release, after pronouncing Tat.
Vāṇi's rendering
With Tat — 'that alone' — seekers of freedom offer, give, and endure, asking no reward for any of it.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तत्tad | that — the word Tat, spoken over the act |
| इतिiti | thus, saying so |
| अनभिसन्धायanabhisandhāya | without aiming at, not intending |
| फलम्phalaṁ | fruit, reward, result |
| यज्ञ-तपः-क्रियाःyajña-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ | acts of offering and acts of austerity |
| दान-क्रियाःdāna-kriyāś | acts of giving (the final s softened before ca) |
| चca | and |
| विविधाःvividhāḥ | of many kinds, various |
| क्रियन्तेkriyante | are performed, are done |
| मोक्ष-काङ्क्षिभिःmokṣa-kāṅkṣibhiḥ | by those who long for freedom |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 25 mean?
It gives the second of three sacred words. Tat — 'that' — is spoken over an offering, a hardship borne, a gift given, and it turns the act away from the doer. Krishna says those who want freedom act this way: fully, and with no claim on what follows. The deed stands; the demand for payment is dropped.
What does tad ityanabhisandhaya phalam mean?
Anabhisandhāya phalam means without aiming at the fruit. The act is not weakened — it is unhooked. You still show up, still give, still endure. What you release is the private arithmetic of return. Tat is the word that does the releasing, because 'that' is never you.
Why do seekers of moksha give up the reward of their good actions?
Because the reward is what binds. Every offering made for a result ties you to that result, and to the next one. Mokṣa-kāṅkṣibhiḥ — those who long for freedom — are simply people who have noticed the rope. Krishna does not ask them to stop acting. He asks them to stop collecting.
How can I practise Tat in ordinary life?
Do one thing today and refuse its receipt. Help without mentioning it. Work without checking who noticed. Keep a discipline no one will praise. Say inwardly: this is for that, not for me. The act loses nothing. You lose the weight of waiting to be repaid.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Tat means only that. Not this, not mine — that. Say it over an offering and the offering stops pointing back at you. Krishna has just given Arjuna Om for beginning; now he gives him a word for letting go. The giver still gives, the fast is still kept, the work still gets done — only the invoice is torn up. Notice how much of your generosity keeps a ledger: the thank-you expected, the name remembered, the credit quietly filed. Tat closes the ledger. What you offer today, offer to that — and walk away before the receipt arrives.