Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 26
न बुद्धिभेदं जनयेदज्ञानां कर्मसङ्गिनाम्।
जोषयेत्सर्वकर्माणि विद्वान् युक्तः समाचरन्।।
जोषयेत्सर्वकर्माणि विद्वान् युक्तः समाचरन्।।
na buddhi-bhedaṁ janayed ajñānāṁ karma-saṅginām
joṣayet sarva-karmāṇi vidvān yuktaḥ samācaran
also searched as "na buddhi bhedam janayed ajnanam karma sanginam"
Translation
He should not bewilder the minds of the ignorant who are attached to work; rather, he should himself perform work with devotion and cause others to do the same.
Vāṇi's rendering
Do not unsettle those attached to their work. Acting steadily yourself, draw them to act as well.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not |
| बुद्धिभेदम्buddhi-bhedam | a splitting of the understanding; unsettling of someone's settled outlook |
| जनयेत्janayet | should produce, should cause (sandhi: janayet + ajñānām gives janayed ajñānām) |
| अज्ञानाम्ajñānām | of those who do not yet know |
| कर्मसङ्गिनाम्karma-saṅginām | of those attached to their work |
| जोषयेत्joṣayet | should make them take delight in, should draw them toward |
| सर्वकर्माणिsarva-karmāṇi | all actions, every kind of work |
| विद्वान्vidvān | the one who knows |
| युक्तःyuktaḥ | steady, joined, held together |
| समाचरन्samācaran | carrying out the work himself, fully |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 26 mean?
It tells the one who has understood not to disturb those who haven't. People attached to their work are still being carried by that attachment toward dharma. Break their confidence in it and you take away the ladder before they have reached anywhere. Krishna's instruction is to keep working steadily yourself and let others be drawn in.
What does na buddhi bhedam janayed ajnanam mean?
Do not cause a split in another's understanding. Buddhi-bheda is the fracture that opens when someone's reason for acting is pulled out from under them and nothing has replaced it. Krishna forbids that particular cruelty — the clever word that leaves a person unable to work and unable to rest.
Does this verse mean we should not teach others spiritual truth?
It means truth is not handed over by argument. The verse says joṣayet — draw them, let them come to like the work. A person who sees you act steadily, without grasping at outcomes, learns more than one you have talked out of their motivation. Teaching here is a way of standing, not a speech.
How do I apply Bhagavad Gita 3.26 in daily life?
Stop correcting people out of their reasons for doing good. Your colleague works for recognition, your family for security — these are real supports. Do your own work fully and without clinging to what it yields. That is visible, and it invites. Let your steadiness be the thing that argues, and keep quiet otherwise.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna gives the wise a restraint, not a license. You have seen through something — that the results were never yours — and the first impulse is to say so, loudly, to everyone still working for the fruit. Don't. Their attachment is holding them to the work, and the work is holding them to dharma. Pull the prop away before they can stand and you leave them with neither. Arjuna is being taught how to carry knowing. Teach by doing instead: act steadily, act fully, and let the steadiness be the argument. What you have understood belongs in your hands long before it belongs in your mouth.