Topic

Sin

4 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on sin. Explore teachings across 4 chapters.

All Verses

Chapter 4 • Verse 21 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Renunciation
Nirasir yata-cittatma tyakta-sarva-parigrahah, shariram kevalam karma kurvan napnoti kilbisham

Without hope or possessiveness, with the mind and self under control, abandoning all acquisitiveness, performing action through the body alone — such a person incurs no sin.

  • •Performing only what the body must, without claiming ownership, is pure
  • •Renunciation of possessiveness removes the stain from action
  • •Control of mind and body together constitutes complete action
possessivenessrenunciationbodypurity
Chapter 10 • Verse 3 →The Yoga of Divine Glories
Yo mam ajam anadim ca vetti loka-maheshvaram, asammudho sa martyeshu sarva-papaih pramucyate

One who knows Me as unborn, without beginning, the Supreme Lord of all worlds — that person among mortals is undeluded and freed from all sins. Recognising the eternal and beginningless nature of God purifies the soul and removes the ignorance that is the root of all bondage.

  • •Knowing God as unborn and beginningless leads to liberation from sin
  • •True knowledge of God dispels all delusion
  • •The Lord's eternal nature is the foundation of all authentic spiritual understanding
unbornbeginninglessliberationdivine knowledge
Chapter 18 • Verse 47 →The Yoga of Liberation and Renunciation
sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah para-dharmat sv-anusthitat sva-bhava-niyatam karma kurvan napnoti kilbisam

Better is one's own duty, though imperfectly performed, than the duty of another well performed. By performing duty ordained by one's own nature, one does not incur sin. This echoes the teaching of chapter three on the primacy of svadharma.

  • •Imperfect svadharma is superior to perfectly executed paradharma
  • •One's natural duty shields one from sin even when executed imperfectly
  • •Authenticity to one's own nature is the basis of dharmic living
svadharmaparadharmaauthenticitynatural-duty