Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 7, Verse 28
येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम्।
ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः।।
ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः।।
yeṣāṁ tvanta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
also searched as "yesham tvantagatam papam jananam punyakarmanam"
Translation
But those who have done good deeds, whose sins have come to an end, are freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites. They steadfastly worship Me, adhering to their vows.
Vāṇi's rendering
But those whose wrongs have ended, who live cleanly, slip the spell of opposites and love me with firm vows.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| येषाम्yeṣāṁ | of those in whom |
| तुtu | but (joined as tv- before anta) |
| अन्तगतम्anta-gataṁ | gone to its end, finished |
| पापम्pāpaṁ | wrongdoing |
| जनानाम्janānāṁ | of people |
| पुण्यकर्मणाम्puṇya-karmaṇām | whose acts are clean, of pure deeds |
| तेte | they |
| द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ताःdvandva-moha-nirmuktā | released from the spell of opposites — pleasure and pain, gain and loss (final ḥ softened in sandhi) |
| भजन्तेbhajante | they love, they hold to |
| माम्māṁ | me |
| दृढव्रताःdṛḍha-vratāḥ | firm in what they have vowed |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 28 mean?
It names the condition under which love for Krishna becomes steady. When old wrongdoing has run itself out and action turns clean, the mind stops splitting everything into for-me and against-me. That splitting is the moha of dvandva. Once it loosens, devotion is no longer a mood that comes and goes — it holds, dṛḍha-vratāḥ, firm in vow.
What does yesham tvantagatam papam jananam punyakarmanam teach about purity?
Purity here is not spotlessness. It is depletion — pāpaṁ anta-gataṁ, wrongdoing that has come to its end because it is no longer being fed. Krishna is describing a fuel running out, not a badge being awarded. Clean action simply stops adding to the load, and the mind gets quieter as the load lightens.
Why does the delusion of opposites make devotion unsteady?
Because a mind sorting the world into gain and loss will love Krishna on good days and doubt him on bad ones. Devotion tied to outcomes rises and falls with them. When the sorting relaxes, there is nothing left for love to fluctuate against — and that is what dṛḍha-vratāḥ actually means.
Do I have to be free of wrongdoing before I can love Krishna?
No. The verse describes a ripening, not a gate. Loving Krishna is itself what wears the wrongdoing down; the two move together. You do not wait at the door until you are clean. You walk, and the walking cleans — which is why the previous verses were spoken to a man in the middle of his confusion.
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Commentary
Notice the order. Krishna does not say the pure become free and then love him; he says the wrongs end, the spell of opposites loosens, and love follows. Something has to be spent before that spell breaks. The spell is simple: this is good for me, that is against me — and the whole world sorted into two piles, pleasure and pain, gain and loss. Living cleanly wears the sorting down. It is not a moral prize; it is a clearing. Arjuna wants to know why some see and others cannot. The difference is not intelligence. It is how much of the pile you have already stopped defending.