Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 26
सद्भावे साधुभावे च सदित्येतत्प्रयुज्यते।प्रशस्ते कर्मणि तथा सच्छब्दः पार्थ युज्यते।।
sad-bhāve sādhu-bhāve ca sad ity etat prayujyate
praśaste karmaṇi tathā sac-cchabdaḥ pārtha yujyate
also searched as "sadbhave sadhubhave cha sad ityetat prayujyate"
Translation
This term "Sat" is used in the sense of existence and goodness. And so also, O Arjuna, the word "Sat" is applied to an auspicious action.
Vāṇi's rendering
Sat means what is real, and what is good. It is spoken, too, over every act worth praising.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सद्भावेsad-bhāve | in the sense of being real, of existing |
| साधुभावेsādhu-bhāve | in the sense of goodness, of what is fine and true |
| चca | and |
| सत्sad | the word sat — the real |
| इतिiti | thus, in this way |
| एतत्etat | this (word) |
| प्रयुज्यतेprayujyate | is used, is applied |
| प्रशस्तेpraśaste | over what is praiseworthy, commendable |
| कर्मणिkarmaṇi | in an act, a work done |
| तथाtathā | so too, likewise |
| सत्sat | the word sat (sat + śabdaḥ joins as sac-cchabdaḥ) |
| शब्दःśabdaḥ | the word, the sound spoken |
| पार्थpārtha | Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| युज्यतेyujyate | is fitted, is rightly joined |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 26 mean?
It means the word sat has one range, not two. Krishna says sat names what truly exists and also what is good — and then it is spoken over any act worth praising. Reality and worth are the same territory. What is genuinely there is fine; what is fine has real footing under it.
What is the meaning of sadbhave sadhubhave cha sad ityetat prayujyate?
Sad-bhāve is being, existence. Sādhu-bhāve is goodness. Krishna says the single word sat is applied to both, and to praśaste karmaṇi — to work that deserves praise. The line makes a claim through grammar: an act that is good is an act that has substance, and one without substance cannot be good.
Why does Krishna spend a verse on a single word?
Because Arjuna is about to act, and words shape what he can see. Once sat means real and good together, no deed can be defended as effective but hollow. Krishna is not teaching vocabulary. He is handing you a test you can apply to your own work without waiting for anyone's verdict.
How do I use this verse in daily life?
Take one thing you did today and try saying sat over it — is it real, is it good, would it bear praise from someone who saw everything? Some acts take the word easily. Some do not. That resistance is instruction, and it arrives before any consequence does.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
One small word carries two things we keep apart. Sat is what exists — the real, the unshakeable — and sat is what is good. Krishna does not argue the link; he lets the language show it. The same syllable that says a thing is says a thing is worthy. Then he widens it further: sat is spoken over an act, over work that deserves praise. Goodness is not a decoration added to a deed. It is the deed's share in what is real. Arjuna is being taught to hear his own vocabulary. Ask which of today's actions you could say sat over.