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Chapter 4 · Transcendental Knowledge · 42 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 4 · Transcendental Knowledge
4.254.27

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 4.26

Sacrifice, discipline and knowledge

श्रोत्रादीनीन्द्रियाण्यन्ये संयमाग्न‍िषु जुह्वति ।

शब्दादीन्विषयानन्य इन्द्रियाग्न‍िषु जुह्वति ॥ २६ ॥

śrotrādīnīndriyāṇy anye

saṁyamāgniṣu juhvati

śabdādīn viṣayān anya

indriyāgniṣu juhvati

Translation

Some [the unadulterated brahmacārīs] sacrifice the hearing process and the senses in the fire of mental control, and others [the regulated householders] sacrifice the objects of the senses in the fire of the senses.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

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

Sacrifice Through Sense Control

  1. 1Students offer hearing and the senses into the fire of mental control; regulated householders offer sense objects into the fire of the senses.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that all four orders of human life aim at spiritual perfection through restraint, rather than sense pleasure.
  3. 3Engage your hearing in the Lord’s glories and the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 4, Transcendental Knowledge: sacrifice, discipline and knowledge.

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.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 4.26 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.

4

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 4 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 4.25Sacrifice, discipline and knowledgeBG 4.27Sacrifice, discipline and knowledgeBG 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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Ask about BG 4.26 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

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.