Sanskrit
दैवमेवापरे यज्ञं योगिनः पर्युपासते । ब्रह्माग्नावपरे यज्ञं यज्ञेनैवोपजुह्वति ॥
daivam evāpare yajñaṃ yoginaḥ paryupāsate brahmāgnāv apare yajñaṃ yajñenaivopajuhvati
Translation
Some Yogis offer up sacrifice to the Shining Ones; others sacrifice only by pouring sacrifice into the fire of the Eternal;
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Opens the catalogue that verse 24 sets up: some yogis sacrifice to the “Shining Ones,” the gods of verse 12, others pour their sacrifice directly into the fire of the Eternal — the same underlying act described at two different levels of understanding, external deity-worship versus a more direct, non-dual offering. The two are not ranked as true and false but as outer and inner: deity-directed yajña and the “sacrifice offered by sacrifice into Brahman” are the same gesture at different depths. The catalogue’s purpose (see BG 4.30) is breadth, not hierarchy — until BG 4.33.
Study deeper
Word by word
- daivam evāpare yajñaṃदैवं एवापरे यज्ञं
- some yogins offer sacrifice to the gods alone (daivam + eva + apare + yajñam)
- yoginaḥ paryupāsateयोगिनः पर्युपासते
- yogins worship (yoginaḥ + paryupāsate)
- brahmāgnāv apare yajñaṃब्रह्माग्नाव् अपरे यज्ञं
- others offer the sacrifice in the fire of Brahman (brahma-agnau + apare + yajñam)
- yajñenaivopajuhvatiयज्ञेनैवोपजुह्वति
- offer sacrifice by sacrifice itself (yajñena + eva + upajuhvati)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Two very different orientations sit in the same verse — sacrifice offered outward to the gods, and sacrifice poured directly into the fire of the Absolute — and Krishna ranks neither over the other here. That patience is deliberate: the catalogue runs another five verses gathering every variant before verse 33 finally states which is best. Naming the full range before judging any part of it is its own discipline, one most people skip when they form an opinion after hearing only the first option.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Before deciding which approach to a goal is 'the right one' for you, try to name the full range of approaches available first, the way this verse lists one option without ranking it, saving judgment until more of the picture is in. Forming an opinion after only the first option you hear rarely survives contact with the others.
Professional
- In a design review, resist ranking the first proposal that's presented — let the fuller range of approaches get named before any of them gets judged as best, the way this verse holds off on a verdict for several more verses. Early ranking quietly shuts down options nobody's actually compared yet.
Family & Social
- When someone close to you describes their way of handling something that isn't your way, hold off on deciding it's inferior until you've actually heard the range of what's out there — including your own approach placed honestly alongside theirs, not above it by default.
Ask yourself
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