Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 27
सर्वाणीन्द्रियकर्माणि प्राणकर्माणि चापरे।
आत्मसंयमयोगाग्नौ जुह्वति ज्ञानदीपिते।।
आत्मसंयमयोगाग्नौ जुह्वति ज्ञानदीपिते।।
sarvāṇīndriya-karmāṇi prāṇa-karmāṇi cāpare
ātma-sanyama-yogāgnau juhvati jñāna-dīpite
also searched as "sarvanindriya-karmani prana-karmani chapare"
Translation
Some again offer as an oblation the functions of the senses and the activity of the vital breaths into the fire of the Yoga of restraint of the mind, kindled by knowledge.
Vāṇi's rendering
Others pour every act of sense and breath into the fire of self-mastery, lit by knowledge.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सर्वाणिsarvāṇi | all, every one of them (joins with the next word by sandhi) |
| इन्द्रिय-कर्माणिindriya-karmāṇi | the workings of the senses — seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling |
| प्राण-कर्माणिprāṇa-karmāṇi | the workings of the life-breath, the body's own unwilled motion |
| चca | and |
| अपरेapare | others, still another kind of offerer |
| आत्म-संयम-योगाग्नौātma-sanyama-yogāgnau | into the fire that is the yoga of self-mastery (yoga + agnau, joined by sandhi) |
| जुह्वतिjuhvati | they pour in, they offer as oblation |
| ज्ञान-दीपितेjñāna-dīpite | kindled by knowledge, burning because understanding lit it |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 27 mean?
It names a kind of offerer who withholds nothing. The senses still see and hear, the breath still rises and falls — but every one of those acts is poured into the fire of self-mastery. That fire burns because knowledge lit it. Restraint alone smothers; restraint with understanding transforms.
What does sarvanindriya karmani pranakarmani chapare mean?
Sarvāṇi indriya-karmāṇi — all the workings of the senses. Prāṇa-karmāṇi — the workings of the breath. Apare — others, yet another kind of offerer among those Krishna is listing. These people take the ordinary traffic of a living body and make an oblation of it, keeping no portion aside for themselves.
Does this verse mean I should suppress my senses?
No. Nothing here is stopped. The word is juhvati — poured, offered. Suppression clamps the senses shut and calls it discipline; this is different. The seeing continues, the breath continues, and the ownership of them is what goes into the fire. You still act. You simply stop collecting the acts.
Why does Krishna say the fire is lit by knowledge?
Because self-control without understanding is a fire of wet wood — much effort, little heat, and it dies by evening. Jñāna-dīpite means the flame already has light in it. When you see clearly what the self is and is not, restraint stops being a struggle and becomes simply how you move.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has been listing offerings — wealth, austerity, study. Here the offering is you. Every act of seeing, hearing, reaching, every rise and fall of breath: poured in. Not stopped. Poured. The fire is self-mastery, and it burns only because knowledge has lit it — restraint without understanding is just a clenched jaw, and it goes out. Arjuna is being shown that renunciation need not mean leaving the field; the senses keep working, the breath keeps moving, and nothing is kept back for oneself. Notice what you do with your next hour. It is either kept, or it is offered.