Shloka 37

ध्यानयोगः — Dhyāna-Yoga

Discipline of Meditation and Mental Restraint

Devanagari script

यथैधांसि समिद्धो<ग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेडर्जुन । ज्ञानाग्नि: सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा,क्योंकि हे अर्जुन! जैसे प्रजजलित अग्नि ईंधनोंको भस्ममय कर देता है, वैसे ही ज्ञानरूप अग्नि सम्पूर्ण कर्मोंको भस्ममय कर देता हैः

Transliteration

yathaidhāṁsi samiddho 'gnir bhasmasāt kurute 'rjuna | jñānāgniḥ sarvakarmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute tathā ||

Translation

Arjuna, just as a blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, so too the fire of true knowledge reduces all actions—and their binding consequences—to ashes. In the midst of war, this teaching redirects attention from mere outward deeds to the inner freedom that comes when wisdom dissolves the roots of karmic bondage.

Word by Word

यथाjust as

इधांसिfuel-sticks, kindling

समिद्धःkindled, blazing

अग्निःfire

भस्मसात्to ashes, into ash-state

कुरुतेmakes, turns (into)

अर्जुनO Arjuna

ज्ञानाग्निःthe fire of knowledge

सर्वकर्माणिall actions

भस्मसात्to ashes, into ash-state

कुरुतेmakes, turns (into)

तथाso, likewise

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Agni (fire)

Jñāna (knowledge)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Liberating knowledge (jñāna) destroys the binding power of actions—like fire turning fuel to ash—so one is no longer chained by karmic residues even while acting.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the battlefield dialogue, the teaching shifts Arjuna from anxiety about the moral weight of action to the principle that inner wisdom can dissolve bondage, enabling righteous action without attachment.