Shloka 7

अक्षरब्रह्मयोग (Akṣara-Brahma-Yoga) — Knowledge of the Imperishable, Prakṛti, and Devotion

Devanagari script

योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रिय: । सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते,जिसका मन अपने वशमें है, जो जितेन्द्रिय एवं विशुद्ध अन्तःकरणवाला हैः और सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंका आत्मरूप परमात्मा ही जिसका आत्मा है, ऐसा कर्मयोगी कर्म करता हुआ भी लिप्त नहीं होता

Transliteration

yogayukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ | sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā kurvann api na lipyate ||

Translation

One who is disciplined in yoga—pure in inner being, self-mastered, and with senses conquered—whose very self has become one with the Self of all beings, remains unstained even while acting. The verse frames ethical action as possible without moral taint when deeds arise from inner purity, restraint, and a vision of the one Self present in all creatures.

Word by Word

योगयुक्तःengaged in yoga; yoked to discipline

विशुद्धात्माone whose inner self is purified

विजितात्माone who has conquered the mind/self

जितेन्द्रियःone who has conquered the senses

सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्माone whose self is the Self of all beings; one who has become the self of all beings

कुर्वन्doing; performing

अपिeven; also

नnot

लिप्यतेis tainted; is smeared; is attached

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

all beings (sarvabhūta)

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?

A person established in yoga—pure, self-controlled, and seeing the one Self in all beings—can perform necessary duties without becoming morally or karmically stained, because the action is free from egoistic grasping and rooted in inner discipline.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva’s Bhagavadgītā discourse, Arjuna is engaged in a dialogue about right action amid the impending war. This verse articulates the ideal of the karma-yogin: acting in the world while remaining inwardly unbound through purity, restraint, and universal identification.