Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 46
यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः।।
yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ
also searched as "yatah pravrittir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam"
Translation
From whom all beings arise and by whom all this is pervaded—by worshipping Him with one's own duty, one reaches perfection.
Vāṇi's rendering
Worship, through the work itself, the one from whom all beings flow and who fills all this — and find perfection.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यतःyataḥ | from whom |
| प्रवृत्तिःpravṛttiḥ | the coming forth, the springing up (appears as pravṛttir by sandhi before bhūtānāṁ) |
| भूतानाम्bhūtānāṁ | of all beings |
| येनyena | by whom |
| सर्वम्sarvam | all, everything |
| इदम्idaṁ | this — this whole world in front of you |
| ततम्tatam | is spread through, soaked through, pervaded |
| स्वकर्मणाsva-karmaṇā | by one's own work, with the labour that is yours |
| तम्tam | him, that one |
| अभ्यर्च्यabhyarcya | having worshipped, having made the offering |
| सिद्धिम्siddhiṁ | perfection, arrival, the thing fully come to fruit |
| विन्दतिvindati | finds, comes upon |
| मानवःmānavaḥ | a human being, any person |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 46 mean?
It means your own work is a form of worship. Krishna names the one from whom all beings arise and who pervades everything, then says: worship that one with sva-karma, your own labour. Not by leaving the labour for a shrine. By offering the labour itself. Siddhi — perfection — comes to whoever does this.
What is the meaning of yatah pravrittir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam?
It points to the source and the presence at once. Beings come forth from that one; that one is spread through all this. So there is nowhere you could work that is outside the field of worship. The line exists to remove the excuse that your circumstances are too ordinary.
How can ordinary work be worship if it is not religious work?
Because the verse never mentions religious work. It says sva-karma — the work that is actually yours, given by your nature and your situation. Krishna makes the offering out of what you already do, not out of something you must first become worthy to do. The attention you bring is the incense.
What kind of perfection does this verse promise?
Not flawless output. Siddhi here is arrival — the state of one who is no longer split between living and seeking. When the work is offered, the division closes. You stop waiting for the day when real life begins, because the offering is being made this afternoon.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Not beside the work. Through it. Krishna has just said each person has their own labour, fitted to their nature, and now he tells Arjuna what that labour is for. The one from whom beings pour out and who soaks through everything — that one is worshipped by the doing. No altar is required, no interval carved out of the day for holiness. The bow is the offering. So is the ledger, the lathe, the child's fever tended at three in the morning. Perfection is not found after your work is finally done. It is found in the way your hands move now.