Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 3, Verse 15: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Yoga

Bhāṣyakāra purports

• Śaṅkaraadvaita

  Karma (ritual action) arises from brahma, where brahma here means the Veda — and that Veda itself arises from the akṣara (the imperishable Paramātman), breathed forth as a man breathes without volition. Because the all-illumining Veda pervades all objects of knowledge, it is called sarva-gata (all-pervading); and because its primary intent is the yajña-vidhi (injunction for sacrifice), it is permanently established in yajña. The chain is: akṣara → Veda → karma — not a cosmological emanation but an epistemological authority-chain grounding every act in the apauruṣeya (authorless) word.

  divergence: ब्रह्म वेदः … अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमात्मा … पुरुषनिःश्वासवत् समुद्भूतम्

• Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

  The karma spoken of here is action performed through the body — and that body is itself a transformation of brahma understood as Prakṛti (primordial matter), as confirmed by Gītā 14.3 ('mama yonir mahad brahma'). That Prakṛti-body arises from akṣara, the jīvātman (individual self), nourished by food and drink, which animates it for action. The all-pervasive brahma (Prakṛti-body) belonging to every adhikārin (qualified agent) is therefore eternally grounded in yajña — yajña is its very foundation and purpose.

  divergence: ब्रह्मशब्देन प्रकृतिः निर्दिष्टा … अक्षरशब्दनिर्दिष्टो जीवात्मा … शरीरम् अक्षरसमुद्भवम्

• Madhvadvaita

  Karma arises from brahma because it is Brahman (Hari) himself who impels the jīva to virtuous action — as Kauṣītakī Upaniṣad 3.9 confirms ('eṣa hy enam sādhu karma kārayati'). Akṣara here refers to the eternal phonemic units of the Veda — the eternal, uncreated letters through which the transcendent Brahman is revealed (abhivyakta), not produced. The statement 'niḥśvasita' (breathed forth) denotes effortlessness, not unconscious causation, for Brahman acts with full will. Yajña reveals Brahman, hence Brahman is established in yajña.

  divergence: अक्षराणि प्रसिद्धानि तेभ्यो ह्यभिव्यज्यते परं ब्रह्म … अभिव्यञ्जके कर्तृवचनम्

• Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

  Brahma here is the Veda or Prajāpati — and both are themselves understood through brahma-vāda (the discourse of Brahman-identity), for everything is Brahman. The akṣara is the kūṭastha (the unchanging ground), born of the Praṇava (Oṃ), or alternatively the Puruṣa himself. Since 'puruṣa eveda sarvam' (Ṛgveda 6.4.17) and 'yajño vai viṣṇuḥ' (Taittirīya Saṃhitā 1.7.4), yajña is non-different from Brahman — the sacrifice is Brahman's own body conceived by Prajāpati. Karma, born of this all-pervading Brahman, is thus Kṛṣṇa's own self-expression.

  divergence: ब्रह्म वेदः प्रजापतिर्वा … ब्रह्मवादानुरोधात् … तदक्षरसमुद्भवं कूटस्थं प्रणवसम्भूतम् … यज्ञो वै विष्णुः

• Śrīdharabhakti

  The karma of the yajamāna (sacrificer) and associated ritual agents is brahma-born — born of the Veda — and the Veda in turn arises from the akṣara (para-brahman), as the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad confirms: 'asya mahato bhūtasya niḥśvasitam etat yad ṛgvedo yajurvedaḥ sāmavedaḥ.' Therefore the all-pervading akṣara-brahman is said to be 'established in yajña' in the sense that it is attained through yajña as the upāya (means) — as Lakṣmī is 'always present in effort.' Alternatively, the Veda-named brahma pervades all mantras, arthavādas, and itihāsas, and is perpetually established in yajña as its ultimate tātparya (purposive meaning).

  divergence: ब्रह्म वेदः तस्मात्प्रवृत्तम् … अक्षरात्परब्रह्मणः … यज्ञेनोपायभूतेन प्राप्यते

• Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

  Karma produces apūrva (the unseen ritual potency) only when it is brahma-udbhava — born of the Veda, not pāṣaṇḍa-śāstra (heterodox texts). The Veda's unique authority derives from its being akṣara-samudbhava: it arose from the Paramātman effortlessly, like breath ('puruṣa-niḥśvāsa-nyāyena'), making it apauruṣeya (not person-authored) and therefore untainted by the defects of human composition — confusion, error, inadvertence, or intent to deceive. This all-pervading, eternal Veda is established in yajña as its tātparya (supreme import): heterodox ritual prescriptions must be abandoned; only Veda-commanded dharma is to be performed.

  divergence: ब्रह्म वेदः … अपौरुषेयत्वेन निरस्तसमस्तदोषाशङ्कम् … पाखण्डप्रतिपादितोपधर्मपरित्यागेन