Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 13
यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषैः।
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात्।।
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात्।।
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
bhuñjate te tvaghaṁ pāpā ye pacantyātma-kāraṇāt
also searched as "Yajna shishtashinah santo muchyante sarvakilbishaih"
Translation
Pious people who eat the remnants of sacrifices are freed from all sins, whereas those who are sinful and cook only for their own sake will only incur sin.
Vāṇi's rendering
The good eat what remains after offering, and are freed. Those who cook only for themselves eat sin.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यज्ञशिष्टाशिनःyajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ | those who eat what is left over after the offering |
| सन्तःsantaḥ | the good, the true-hearted (appears as santo before the next word) |
| मुच्यन्तेmucyante | are released, are set free |
| सर्वकिल्बिषैःsarva-kilbiṣaiḥ | from all stains, all wrongdoing |
| भुञ्जतेbhuñjate | they eat, they consume |
| तेte | those ones |
| तुtu | but, whereas (joined as tv- before agham) |
| अघम्agham | evil, harm, sin |
| पापाःpāpāḥ | the wrongdoers (appears as pāpā before ye) |
| येye | who |
| पचन्तिpacanti | cook (joined as pacanty- before ātma) |
| आत्मकारणात्ātma-kāraṇāt | for their own sake alone |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 13 mean?
Krishna divides all eating into two kinds. There is food that has first been offered, and what you take afterwards is remnant — you eat as a guest at a table you did not set. And there is food cooked for yourself alone. The first frees; the second is called agham, harm, because nothing was ever released.
What is the meaning of Yajna shishtashinah santo muchyante sarvakilbishaih?
Those who eat the remainder of the offering are loosened from every stain. Kilbiṣa is the residue that clings — the small unnoticed violences of simply living, of fire and grindstone and harvest. Offering first does not undo them. It places them inside a larger exchange, and there they dissolve.
Do I have to perform rituals to follow this verse?
The ritual is one shape of it, not the whole. Yajña means anything given before it is taken. A portion set aside, a share sent out, a moment where the food is not yet yours. Do that honestly with a plate of rice and the verse has been kept.
Why does Krishna call selfish cooking a sin?
Not because appetite is shameful. Because a life that only receives has quietly declared itself the centre, and the whole chapter is Krishna dismantling that claim. You are fed by rain, soil, labour, and grace you never arranged. To take all of it and return none is theft, and theft leaves a mark.
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Commentary
Every meal has a history you did not write. Rain you did not summon, soil you did not make, hands you never met. Krishna calls the offering an acknowledgment of that debt, and what remains after offering is the only food that is truly clean. Eat that, and you are freed. Cook only for yourself, and the food itself turns into the wrong, because you have taken a whole world's labour and closed your hand around it. This is not about ritual leftovers. It is about whether anything leaves your hands before it enters your mouth. Give something away first. Then sit down and eat.