Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 33
श्रेयान्द्रव्यमयाद्यज्ञाज्ज्ञानयज्ञः परन्तप।
सर्वं कर्माखिलं पार्थ ज्ञाने परिसमाप्यते।।
सर्वं कर्माखिलं पार्थ ज्ञाने परिसमाप्यते।।
śreyān dravya-mayād yajñāj jñāna-yajñaḥ parantapa
sarvaṁ karmākhilaṁ pārtha jñāne parisamāpyate
also searched as "shreyan dravyamayad yajnaj jnanayajnah parantapa"
Translation
The sacrifice of knowledge is superior to material sacrifice. O Arjuna, all actions and everything else culminate in knowledge.
Vāṇi's rendering
The offering of knowledge outweighs any offering of things. In the end, all action ripens into knowing.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्रेयान्śreyān | better, higher, more worthy |
| द्रव्यमयात्dravya-mayāt | than that made of material things (sandhi: final t becomes d before the next word) |
| यज्ञात्yajñāt | than the offering, than the sacrifice (final t palatalized to j before jñāna) |
| ज्ञानयज्ञःjñāna-yajñaḥ | the offering that is knowledge |
| परन्तपparantapa | O scorcher of foes — Arjuna |
| सर्वम्sarvam | all |
| कर्मkarma | action, work |
| अखिलम्akhilam | entire, without remainder (joined as karmākhilam) |
| पार्थpārtha | O son of Pṛthā — Arjuna |
| ज्ञानेjñāne | in knowing, in knowledge |
| परिसमाप्यतेparisamāpyate | reaches its completion, finishes, ripens to its end |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 33 mean?
It sets one offering above all others. Grain, gold, ghee, effort — these can be given without the giver being touched. The offering of knowing is different: it consumes the ignorance that made the giving feel like a transaction. And Krishna adds the reason — every action, without exception, finds its completion in jñāna.
What is the meaning of shreyan dravyamayad yajnaj jnanayajnah parantapa?
Krishna calls Arjuna parantapa, burner of enemies, then names the only fire that matters. Better than any offering made of substance is the offering made of knowing. He is not asking Arjuna to stop acting. He is telling him what his acting is for.
Does this verse say rituals and charity are useless?
No. It says they are incomplete. An offering of things is a real offering; it simply stops where the things stop. Knowledge does not stop. Continue your giving and your work — but let them teach you something, or you will repeat them for years and arrive nowhere.
How does all action culminate in knowledge?
Action shows you yourself. You discover your fear in the moment of duty, your greed in the moment of gain, your steadiness in the moment of loss. Nothing else reveals this. So the work is not wasted when it ends — it ends in what you now understand and cannot unlearn.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Arjuna has just been shown a long list of offerings — breath, senses, wealth, restraint. Now Krishna ranks them, and the ranking is not flattering to effort. Things can be given away in quantity and still leave the giver unchanged. What is offered in knowing costs nothing and changes everything. This is not a dismissal of action; every act you perform is going somewhere, and Krishna says where — it ripens into understanding, the way a season's labour ends in fruit. So the question at day's end is not how much you did. It is what you now see that you did not see this morning.