Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 37 (BG 4.37) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

4.37 यथा as? एधांसि fuel? समिद्धः blazing? अग्निः fire? भस्मसात्कुरुते reduces to ashes? अर्जुन O Arjuna? ज्ञानाग्निः fire of knowledge? सर्वकर्माणि all actions? भस्मसात्कुरुते reduces to ashes? तथा so.Commentary Just as the sees that are roasted cannot germinate? so also the actions that are burnt by the fire of knowledge cannot bear fruits? i.e.? cannot bring man to this world again for the enjoyment of the fruits of his actions. This is reducing actions to ashes. The actions lose their potency as they are burnt by the fire of knowledge. When the knowledge of the Self dawns? all actions with their results are burnt by the fire of that knowledge just as fuel is burnt by the fire. When there is no agencymentality (the idea I do this)? when there is no desire for the fruits? action is no action at all. It has lost its potency. The fire of knowledge can burn all actions except the Prarabdha Karma? or the result of the past action which has brought this body into existence and which has thus already begun to bear fruits or produce effects.According to some philosophers even the Prarabdha Karma is destroyed by the fire of knowledge. Sri Sankara says in his AparokshanubhutiIn the passage his actions are destroyed when the Supreme is realised the Veda expressly speaks of actions (Karmas) in the plural? in order to signify the destruction of even the Prarabdha.There are three kinds of Karmas or reaction to or fructification of past actions (1) Prarabdha? so much of the past actions as has given rise to the present birth? (2) Sanchita? the balance of the past actions that will give rise to future births -- the storehouse of accumulated actions? and (3) Agami or Kriyamana? acts being done in the present life. If by the knowledge of the Self only the Sanchita and Agami were destroyed and not Prarabdha? the dual number would have been used and not the plural. (Sanskrit grammar has singular? dual and plural numbers). (Cf.IV.1019)

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Modern

This is a well-known and most apt illustration. Whether the pieces of firewood are of different shapes, sizes, or colors, when they are cast into the sacrificial fire, they all meet with the same final result—they become ash. From that heap of ash, we cannot distinguish or separate the ashes of different kinds of wood. Their original form is completely destroyed. In the same way, all karmas—whether sin or virtue, whatever they may be and however many—are burned to ash in the fire of knowledge. Their previous causal nature is utterly destroyed. Karmas bear fruit. However, not all karmas can bear fruit simultaneously. According to the law of nature, only when they have ripened do their fruits begin to be experienced. Since time immemorial, the soul has been performing countless actions while harboring the pride of doership. This is why it must assume many different bodies. The experience of the fruits of these karmas is inevitable. The scriptures classify karmas into three categories: (a) Sanchita—accumulated karmas that have not yet begun to bear fruit; (b) Prarabdha—those that have already begun to yield their fruits; and (c) Agami—those whose fruits will be experienced in the future. In this verse, the reference is to all karmas, particularly the sanchita and agami karmas. Therefore—