Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 8, Verse 28
वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव
दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम्।
अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा
योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम्।।
दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम्।
अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा
योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम्।।
vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva
dāneṣu yat puṇya-phalaṁ pradiṣṭam
atyeti tat sarvam idaṁ viditvā
yogī paraṁ sthānam upaiti cādyam
also searched as "vedeshu yajneshu tapahsu chaiva"
Translation
Having known this, the yogi transcends all the results of righteous deeds declared in the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities, and charities, and reaches the primordial, supreme state.
Vāṇi's rendering
Whatever merit scripture, sacrifice, austerity, and giving promise — the yogi who knows this passes beyond them all, home.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वेदेषुvedeṣu | in the Vedas, in scriptural study |
| यज्ञेषुyajñeṣu | in sacrifices, in ritual offering |
| तपःसुtapaḥsu | in austerities, in disciplines of self-denial |
| चca | and (from caiva) |
| एवeva | indeed, as well (from caiva) |
| दानेषुdāneṣu | in acts of giving, in charity |
| यत्yat | whatever |
| पुण्यफलम्puṇya-phalam | the fruit of merit, the reward earned by good deeds |
| प्रदिष्टम्pradiṣṭam | is declared, is promised, is laid down |
| अत्येतिatyeti | goes beyond, passes over |
| तत्tat | that |
| सर्वम्sarvam | all of it |
| इदम्idam | this — the teaching just given |
| विदित्वाviditvā | having known, having truly understood |
| योगीyogī | the yogi, the one joined in practice |
| परम्param | supreme, highest |
| स्थानम्sthānam | place, abode, standing-ground |
| उपैतिupaiti | reaches, arrives at |
| चca | and (from cādyam) |
| आद्यम्ādyam | primordial, the first, the oldest (from cādyam) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 28 mean?
It closes the chapter by placing the yogi past the whole economy of merit. Vedic study, sacrifice, austerity, giving — each yields its promised fruit, and each fruit runs out. Krishna says the one who has understood this teaching does not collect that fruit at all. He reaches the primordial, supreme place, which no amount of earning purchases.
What is the meaning of the verse beginning vedeshu yajneshu tapahsu chaiva?
Four great earners are named and then set aside: scripture, sacrifice, austerity, charity. Krishna is not dismissing them. He is saying they belong to a different order — the order of reward. Ādyam sthānam, the ancient place, is not a reward. The yogi who truly knows this passes beyond every promised return and arrives.
Does this verse mean rituals and charity are useless?
No. Krishna calls their fruit puṇya — real merit, really given. But merit is a payment, and payments are finite; what is earned is eventually spent. The verse does not cancel these acts, it outranks their results. Do them without waiting for wages, and you are already walking the way this verse describes.
What is the paramam sthanam adyam that the yogi reaches?
Sthānam is a place to stand; ādyam means first, from the beginning. Krishna points to what was there before any practice began and does not depend on practice to persist. You do not construct it by good deeds. You come to it — and this whole eighth chapter has been describing how not to lose the way there.
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Commentary
Count what the tradition promises: recitation earns, sacrifice earns, fasting earns, giving earns. Krishna denies none of these ledgers. He says the yogi walks past them. Not because merit is false, but because merit is still payment — earned, stored, spent, exhausted. What Arjuna has just been handed is not a better wage. It is the end of wages. Knowing this — the imperishable, the single syllable, the departure with a steady mind — he arrives somewhere that was never bought. Ādyam: the first place, the oldest. You are not being asked to accumulate. You are being asked to go home.