Sanskrit
तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ । ज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुमिहार्हसि ॥
tasmāc chāstraṃ pramāṇaṃ te kāryākāryavyavasthitau jñātvā śāstravidhānoktaṃ karma kartum ihārhasi
Translation
Therefore let the Scriptures be thy authority, in determining what ought to be done, or what ought not to be done. Knowing what hath been declared by the ordinances of the Scriptures, thou oughtest to work in this world.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The chapter closes on a firmly textualist note: let scripture be the authority (pramāṇam) for determining what should and shouldn’t be done, and act according to what it prescribes. This is a conservative resting point for a text that elsewhere leans toward internalized discernment — the steady wisdom praised in Chapter 2, the situational duty of svadharma in Chapter 3, even Krishna’s own final concession in Chapter 18 to let Arjuna decide as he wishes. Chapter 17 opens by probing exactly that tension, asking whether sincerity and scriptural correctness are really the same axis or two different ones — a question this closing verse doesn’t anticipate needing to answer. Śāstraṃ pramāṇaṃ te — “let scripture be your measure” — for kārya-akārya, the question chapter 16 opened with (BG 16.7: the demonic don’t know pravṛtti from nivṛtti). It is not the Gita’s last word on action — BG 18.63 will hand the decision back to Arjuna — but it is the floor beneath it.
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Word by word
- tasmāc chāstraṃ pramāṇaṃ teतस्माच् छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते
- therefore let scripture be your authority (tasmāt + śāstram + pramāṇam + te)
- kāryākāryavyavasthitauकार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ
- in settling what is to be done and not done (kārya-akārya-vyavasthitau)
- jñātvā śāstravidhānoktaṃज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं
- knowing what the scriptural ordinance declares (jñātvā + śāstra-vidhāna-uktam)
- karma kartum ihārhasiकर्म कर्तुं इहार्हसि
- you should act here (karma + kartum + iha + arhasi)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The chapter opened in impersonal catalog mode and stays there for most of its length, but it’s bookended by two moments of direct second-person address to Arjuna specifically — the reassurance in verse 5 (“grieve not, you are born with divine properties”) and this closing instruction (“let scripture be thy authority”). Between those two personal moments sits an extended impersonal survey of virtue and vice; the chapter frames its general diagnosis with two reminders that the teaching is, underneath the catalog, still being delivered to one particular person.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you're working through a general principle or list of do's and don'ts, periodically bring it back to your own specific situation by name, the way this chapter opens and closes with direct address to Arjuna around its long impersonal catalog. General frameworks land better when translated back to your particular case.
Professional
- When delivering a broad policy or framework to your team, bookend the general content with direct, specific address to the actual people in the room — this chapter's structure, impersonal catalog framed by two moments of direct personal address, is a useful template for making abstract guidance feel aimed at someone.
Family & Social
- When discussing general values or house rules with family, open and close the conversation by speaking directly to the specific person it matters most for right now, rather than only talking in general terms throughout — this chapter's structure is a good model for keeping a general talk from feeling impersonal.
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