SanskritGita shlokas: devotion and assurance
Alongside action and knowledge, the Gita teaches a third path, bhakti, loving devotion. In these verses Krishna speaks as the divine, and what he gives is assurance: that he comes when the world needs it, that he carries the burdens of those who love him, that the humblest gift is accepted, and that those who take refuge need not fear.
These are among the best-loved verses in the whole of Sanskrit. People of different traditions understand them in different ways, and great teachers have written long commentaries on some of them. We give only the plain meaning of the words, and leave the deeper explanation to those traditions and their teachers.
The Sanskrit text is as transcribed on Sanskrit Wikisource (copied by program on 12 November 2026), and has not yet been compared with a printed edition; please check before reciting or printing. The meanings and notes are our own plain rendering. See About.
Bhagavad Gita 4.7
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati bhārata.
abhyutthānamadharmasya tadātmānam srijāmyaham.
Hindiहे भारत, जब-जब धर्म की हानि और अधर्म की वृद्धि होती है, तब-तब मैं अपने को प्रकट करता हूँ।
EnglishWhenever righteousness declines, O Bharata, and unrighteousness rises, then I send myself forth.
NoteKrishna speaks. Known to millions from the title music of the television Mahabharat. It forms a pair with the next verse.
Bhagavad Gita 4.8
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥
paritrānāya sādhūnām vināshāya cha dushkritām.
dharmasamsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge.
Hindiसज्जनों की रक्षा के लिए, दुष्टों के विनाश के लिए और धर्म की स्थापना के लिए मैं युग-युग में प्रकट होता हूँ।
EnglishTo protect the good, to destroy the wicked and to establish righteousness, I come into being age after age.
NoteThree purposes, each in the dative case ending "-aya": paritranaya, vinashaya, dharma-samsthapanarthaya. "Yuge yuge" means in every age.
Bhagavad Gita 9.22
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते ।
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥
ananyāshchintayanto mām ye janāh paryupāsate.
teshām nityābhiyuktānām yogakshemam vahāmyaham.
Hindiजो लोग अनन्य भाव से मेरा चिंतन करते हुए मेरी उपासना करते हैं, उन सदा मुझमें लगे हुए भक्तों का योग-क्षेम मैं स्वयं वहन करता हूँ।
EnglishThose who worship me, thinking of me alone, ever devoted: I myself carry what they lack and guard what they have.
Note"Yoga-kshema" is gaining what one does not have and protecting what one has. The phrase "yogakshemam vahamyaham" is familiar to many as a motto.
Bhagavad Gita 9.26
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥
patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktyā prayachchhati.
tadaham bhaktyupahritamashnāmi prayatātmanah.
Hindiजो कोई भक्ति से मुझे पत्ता, फूल, फल या जल अर्पित करता है, उस शुद्ध मन वाले का भक्ति से लाया हुआ वह उपहार मैं स्वीकार करता हूँ।
EnglishWhoever offers me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering of love from the pure-hearted I accept.
NoteThe teaching that the simplest offering is enough when it is made with love. The four things named are within reach of the poorest person.
Bhagavad Gita 18.66
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ।
अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥
sarvadharmānparityajya māmekam sharanam vraja.
aham tvām sarvapāpebhyo mokshayishyāmi mā shuchah.
Hindiसब धर्मों को छोड़कर केवल मेरी शरण में आ जाओ। मैं तुम्हें सब पापों से मुक्त कर दूँगा; शोक मत करो।
EnglishGiving up all duties, take refuge in me alone. I will free you from all sins; do not grieve.
NoteOften called the final teaching (charama shloka) of the Gita. The different schools of Indian philosophy have explained it in different ways; we give only the plain sense of the words.
Bhagavad Gita 18.78
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः ।
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥
yatra yogeshvarah krishno yatra pārtho dhanurdharah.
tatra shrīrvijayo bhūtirdhruvā nītirmatirmama.
Hindiजहाँ योगेश्वर श्रीकृष्ण हैं और जहाँ धनुर्धारी अर्जुन हैं, वहीं श्री, विजय, विभूति और अटल नीति है: ऐसा मेरा मत है।
EnglishWhere Krishna, the lord of yoga, is, and where Arjuna the archer is, there are fortune, victory, well-being and firm justice. Such is my belief.
NoteThe last verse of the Gita, spoken by Sanjaya, who has been reporting the whole dialogue to King Dhritarashtra.
How to study these verses
Read the Sanskrit aloud first, slowly, using the roman line only if you need it. Then read the meaning, and go back to the Sanskrit to see which words carry it. To understand the verse word by word, follow the four steps in how to read a shloka; the case endings and the small unchanging words will do most of the work. Learning one verse a week by heart is a good pace.