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Chapter 4 · Transcendental Knowledge · 42 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 4 · Transcendental Knowledge
4.184.20

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 4.19

Transcendental understanding of action

यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसंकल्पवर्जिताः ।

ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः ॥ १९ ॥

yasya sarve samārambhāḥ

kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ

jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇaṁ

tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṁ budhāḥ

Translation

One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every endeavor is devoid of desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker for whom the reactions of work have been burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

The Fire of Perfect Knowledge

  1. 1Sages say a person in full knowledge works without desire for sense pleasure, and the reactions of work are burned away.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that this knowledge means knowing oneself as the eternal servant of the Supreme Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
  3. 3Develop the understanding that you are the Lord’s eternal servant, and work without seeking sense pleasure.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 4, Transcendental Knowledge: transcendental understanding of action.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Act dutifully without attachment to fruits.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: karma, sva-dharma.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 4.19 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to duty & action?

Practice

Do one task today purely because it is right.

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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 4.16Transcendental understanding of actionBG 4.17Transcendental understanding of actionBG 2.47Responsibility without ownership of outcomesBG 3.21Leadership by example

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.