Bhagavad Gita 4.37 meaningWisdom in action

In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it

“Like fire turns wood to ash, wisdom burns away old mistakes.”

What it means

“As a blazing fire turns wood to ash, the fire of wisdom burns away the weight of all past actions.”

The original Sanskrit

यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन । ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ॥

yathaidhāṃsi samiddho.agnirbhasmasātkurute.arjuna jñānāgniḥ sarvakarmāṇi bhasmasātkurute tathā

Literal translation

O Arjuna, as a blazing fire reduces pieces of wood to ashes, similarly the fire of Knowledge reduces all actions to ashes.

Swami Gambhirananda

हिंदी अनुवाद

जैसे प्रज्जवलित अग्नि ईन्धन को भस्मसात् कर देती है, वैसे ही, हे अर्जुन ! ज्ञानरूपी अग्नि सम्पूर्ण कर्मों को भस्मसात् कर देती है।

Swami Tejomayananda

Go deeper

How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.

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