Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 38
न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते।
तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति।।
तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति।।
na hi jñānena sadṛśaṁ pavitramiha vidyate
tatsvayaṁ yogasansiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati
also searched as "na hi jnanena sadrisham pavitramiha vidyate"
Translation
For there is no purifier equal to knowledge; he who is perfected in Karma Yoga finds this knowledge of his own accord in himself in due time.
Vāṇi's rendering
Nothing in this world cleanses like knowledge. Ripened by practice, you find it within yourself, in time.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not |
| हिhi | indeed, for |
| ज्ञानेनjñānena | with knowledge |
| सदृशम्sadṛśaṁ | equal to, comparable |
| पवित्रम्pavitram | purifier, that which cleanses |
| इहiha | here, in this world (sandhi: pavitram + iha) |
| विद्यतेvidyate | exists, is found |
| तत्tat | that (knowledge) |
| स्वयम्svayaṁ | by oneself, of its own accord (sandhi: tat + svayaṁ) |
| योगसंसिद्धःyoga-sansiddhaḥ | one ripened to completion in practice |
| कालेनkālena | in time, in due season |
| आत्मनिātmani | in the self (sandhi: kālena + ātmani) |
| विन्दतिvindati | finds, comes upon |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 38 mean?
It means knowledge is the strongest cleanser there is, and it cannot be seized. Krishna says the one matured by steady practice finds it in himself, kālena — in due time. The finding is inward and unhurried. You prepare the ground; the ripening keeps its own calendar.
What does 'na hi jnanena sadrisham pavitramiha vidyate' mean?
Nothing in this world purifies like knowledge. Rituals wash the outside, penance disciplines the body, but knowledge reaches the place where the confusion actually sits. Krishna is not praising cleverness here. He means the seeing that dissolves the false ownership of action — and once that dissolves, nothing sticks.
How do I get this knowledge the verse talks about?
Not by hunting for it. Krishna gives one condition — yoga-sansiddhaḥ, ripened by practice. Do the work in front of you without clutching at what it returns. That steadiness makes you the kind of person in whom knowledge can appear. Then it appears, ātmani, within, without announcement.
Why does Krishna say knowledge comes 'in time'?
Because ripening is not something you can rush by wanting it harder. Fruit does not sweeten on demand. The word kālena protects you from despair on the days nothing seems to move — the practice is working underground. Keep doing the work and stop checking whether it has arrived yet.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Krishna has just burned every action to ash in the fire of knowledge. Now he says why: nothing cleanses like it. But notice the second line — he does not tell Arjuna to go and get it. Knowledge is not fetched. It ripens. The one who keeps working, steadily, without grabbing at results, becomes the kind of ground where it grows, and then one day finds it already there, inside, unannounced. Kālena — in time. Not your time. This is why the work matters even when it feels like nothing is happening. You are not looking for it. You are becoming able to hold it.