Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 27
यज्ञे तपसि दाने च स्थितिः सदिति चोच्यते।कर्म चैव तदर्थीयं सदित्येवाभिधीयते।।
yajñe tapasi dāne ca sthitiḥ sad iti cocyate
karma caiva tad-arthīyaṁ sad ity evābhidhīyate
also searched as "yajne tapasi dane ca sthitih sad iti cocyate"
Translation
Devotion to sacrifice, austerity, and gifts is also referred to as Sat; and thus, any action for such purposes is known as Sat.
Vāṇi's rendering
Steadiness in offering, austerity, and giving is called Sat — and every act done for their sake shares the name.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यज्ञेyajñe | in offering, in sacrifice |
| तपसिtapasi | in austerity, in disciplined effort |
| दानेdāne | in giving |
| चca | and |
| स्थितिःsthitiḥ | steadiness, standing firm |
| सत्sat | Sat — what truly is; the real, the good |
| इतिiti | thus, by this name |
| चca | and (joined by sandhi in cocyate) |
| उच्यतेucyate | is called |
| कर्मkarma | action, work |
| चca | and (joined by sandhi in caiva) |
| एवeva | indeed, likewise |
| तदर्थीयम्tad-arthīyaṁ | done for the sake of that, aimed at those ends |
| सत्sat | Sat — the real |
| इतिiti | thus, by this name |
| एवeva | precisely, none other (joined by sandhi in ity evābhidhīyate) |
| अभिधीयतेabhidhīyate | is named, is designated |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 27 mean?
It gives the word Sat a second reach. Steadiness in offering, austerity and giving is Sat — the real. And any action undertaken for the sake of those three carries the same name. Krishna is saying the small supporting act is not lesser; it belongs to what it serves.
What does yajne tapasi dane cha sthitih sad iti chochyate teach about ordinary work?
That ordinary work stops being ordinary when its aim is clear. Sweeping the floor before the offering, saving the money before the giving, keeping the hour before the discipline — tad-arthīyaṁ, done for that sake. The Gītā refuses to rank the errand below the ritual.
Why does Krishna emphasize steadiness rather than the act itself?
Because a single act can be an accident. Sthitiḥ is what remains when the mood has passed — the same offering, the same giving, on the day it feels like nothing. Krishna calls that Sat because only what persists has any claim on being real.
How do I know if my action is Sat?
Ask what it was for. Not whether it was large, admired, or successful — what it was aimed at. If the aim was offering, austerity or giving, the action already shares their name, whatever it looked like from outside. The purpose lends its reality to the work.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna is naming things, and the name he gives is Sat — what is. Not the offering itself, but the steadiness in it. A man who gives once has given; a man who keeps giving has become something. And then the name spreads outward: the wood you gather for the fire, the walk to the place of giving, the early rising that austerity needs — all of it is called Sat, because it was done for the sake of Sat. Nothing is merely preparation. The errand you run today for someone else's good carries the same name as the offering it serves.