BG 4.26 — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 4.26Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

श्रोत्रादीनीन्द्रियाण्यन्ये संयमाग्निषु जुह्वति ।

शब्दादीन् विषयानन्य इन्द्रियाग्निषु जुह्वति ॥

śrotrādīnīndriyāṇy anye saṃyamāgniṣu juhvati

śabdādīn viṣayān anya indriyāgniṣu juhvati

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Some offer the sense faculties into the fires of self-restraint; others offer sound and the rest of the sense-objects into the fires of the senses themselves.

ekras · bhāṣya

The verse names two more kinds of yajna, both internal. "Some offer the indriyas — hearing and the rest — into the fires of samyama. Others offer the vishayas — sound and the rest — into the fires of the indriyas themselves." Two distinct disciplines named with the same yajna-vocabulary. The first kind: the naishthika-brahmachari, the lifelong celibate, dissolves the senses into the fires of restraint. The hearing is offered into the fire of ear-restraint; the seeing into the fire of eye-restraint; each sense into its own particular samyama. The fire-and-offering image holds: the sense is the ghee, the restraint is the flame, the resulting state is what rises from the offering. The second kind: the upakurvana, the householder practitioner, performs the inverse offering. The vishayas — the sense-objects — are offered into the indriyas themselves treated as fires. The eye sees, but with the discipline that converts the seeing into a yajna-act; the ear hears with the same discipline. The objects pass through; the indriya consumes them as a fire consumes the offering.

Madhusudana names this verse as opening the four-limbed inner yoga — pratyahara (withdrawal), dharana (fixation), dhyana (sustained meditation), samadhi (absorption) — each understood as a sacrificial fire.

Ramanuja sees both kinds as karma-yogins engaged in distinct modes of kainkarya, service to Bhagavan. The chapter's universalism widens: householder and renunciate alike find their sacrifice form, each appropriate to the discipline they have undertaken.

Context

where

Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 4.25

Some yogins worship the gods through prescribed rites; others, established in Brahman, offer the very act of sacrifice as oblation into that same Brahman-fire.

What's going on

Some offer the sense faculties into the fires of self-restraint; others offer sound and the rest of the sense-objects into the fires of the senses themselves.

Sūtras through this verse (51)

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

4.9His acts are willed only to bless others.───→here4.26───→11.1By high compassion He showed the world-form.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.───→here4.26───→4.42Cut the heart's doubt with the sword of knowledge.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.───→here4.26───→5.7'Self of all beings' just means the Lord.

show all 51

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

4.14Acts without clinging───→here4.26───→5.14Two tiers of rulership

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesbetween

4.6Avatāras differ in their fullness of Hari.───→here4.26───→6.9Devas, asuras, mortals are three native kinds.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

4.14He acts but does not cling to the act.───→here4.26───→5.14The Lord rules the modes; the soul rules the body.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

4.8Ṛgveda khilas explain the descent as play.───→here4.26───→6.6Maitrāyaṇī defines the stilled mind.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordbetween

4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.───→here4.26───→7.4Eight elements name the inert side of nature.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

4.25'Divine' just means the Lord, named indirectly.───→here4.26───→5.7'Self of all' resolves to the Lord himself.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awaybetween

4.11However they come, I meet them so.───→here4.26───→7.16Four kinds of seekers, all good-hearted.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here4.26───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugebetween

4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.───→here4.26───→9.29Even to all — yet near to those who turn.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here4.26───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here4.26───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here4.26───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

4.18See not-doing in doing, doing in not-doing.───→here4.26───→5.13Body-self confusion is the only error.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it werebetween

4.9My birth and acts are not of this world.───→here4.26───→7.14Divine illusion is hard to cross alone.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.───→here4.26───→5.8I do nothing at all, says the knower.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

4.13The four orders are the Puruṣa's own body.───→here4.26───→15.1The world-tree is the tree of the Kaṭha.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.───→here4.26───→5.12Drop the wish for fruit, not the fruit itself.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

4.13The four orders are His own creation.───→here4.26───→18.41Each order's work is born of its nature.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

4.23Action's flagship verse: it dissolves itself.───→here4.26───→4.36Knowledge ferries you across the ocean.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here4.26───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here4.26───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here4.26───→6.30See Me everywhere, I am never lost.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

4.18Action in inaction───→here4.26───→5.6Renunciation needs the path

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

4.16Even the wise are confused───→here4.26───→7.14Cross the maya

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologybetween

4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I───→here4.26───→7.21'Yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah shraddhayarchitum ichchhati.' Whatever form the dev

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

4.8'Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam, dharma-samsthapana-arthaya sambh───→here4.26───→9.27Dharma-as-offering pillar. 'Yat karoshi yad ashnasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat.' Gau

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.───→here4.26───→6.1The renouncer is the one who acts for Me.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.───→here4.26───→7.14Māyā is real wonder, not unreality.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.───→here4.26───→7.14Surrender alone crosses the māyā.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.───→here4.26───→9.4The Lord pervades all, yet stays untouched.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.───→here4.26───→5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

4.8A mother chastising her child is no cruelty.───→here4.26───→7.1The play-Person of every form opens chapter 7.

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here4.26───→6.10Solitary seat

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here4.26───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)approach

───→here4.26───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here4.26───→6.47Six chapters of aphorism close at this verse.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here4.26───→

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here4.26───→

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.───→here4.26───→6.1Karma-yoga is outer; samādhi-yoga inner.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.───→here4.26───→7.5Higher prakṛti is Śrī, not the eight-fold.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.───→here4.26───→7.21Other deities give what Viṣṇu permits.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.───→here4.26───→5.1Body-residue karma vs. fruit-bearing karma.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.───→here4.26───→5.13All actions renounced by mind alone.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionbetween

4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.───→here4.26───→7.24Failure of seeing, not absence of presence.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurebetween

4.13Four orders made by the one who stays equal.───→here4.26───→9.4He pervades, yet is not in any of it.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionbetween

4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.───→here4.26───→9.22Yoga-kṣemam: the Lord's work, not the seeker's caste.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

3.30Karma offered to the indweller becomes worship.───→here4.26───→4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here4.26───→4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.

Śabda · lemmas (9 unique · 14 occurrences)

अन्ये anya ×2 — other, different · nominative masculine plural noun
जुह्वति √hu ×2 — to offer oblation, sacrifice (verbal root) · present indicative 3rd person plural verb
विषयान् viṣaya — object of sense; sense-domain; sphere · accusative masculine plural noun

show all 9

आदीनि·आदीन् ādi ×2 — beginning, origin; first; (suffix: 'X and so on') · accusative neuter plural noun / accusative masculine plural noun
इन्द्रियाणि·इन्द्रिय indriya ×2 — sense, sense-organ; the eleven indriyas (5 jñānendriyas + 5 karmendriyas + manas) · accusative neuter plural noun / compound
अग्निषु agni ×2 — fire; the fire-god Agni · locative masculine plural noun
श्रोत्र śrotra — ear, hearing (from √śru) · compound
संयम saṃyama — restraint, control (sam- + √yam) · compound
शब्द śabda — word, sound; the audible · compound

Praśna · so what (7)

01If both the ascetic who blocks all sensation and the householder who savors sensation non-graspingly are performing the same sacrifice, what distinguishes genuine non-attachment from mere self-justifying indulgence?
02Śaṅkara says each sense-organ has its own distinct restraint-fire—does this mean a practitioner must work organ by organ, or does one root-fire (mind) subsume all others?

show all 7

03Madhusūdana maps Patañjali's eight-limbed yoga onto a single half-verse—does this alignment mean the Gītā already contains the Yoga-Sūtra, or is it a later scholastic retrofit?
04Śrīdhara separates naiṣṭhika (lifelong celibate) from gṛhastha (householder) practice—is this a social description or a metaphysical distinction about the kind of fire available to each?
05Rāmānuja emphasizes withdrawing the tendency (pravaṇatā) rather than blocking the faculty itself—what is the practical difference between restraining the ear and restraining the ear's pull toward sound?
06Madhva's silence on this verse is recorded in the corpus. What does a Dvaita practitioner lose—or gain—by having to infer the school's reading from first principles rather than from direct commentary?
07If sense-objects become the oblation (havis) and senses become the fire, does the sacrificial logic imply that objects are consumed and transformed, or merely neutralized?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

At the start of a work session, deliberately direct attention away from all five sense-channels for two minutes—eyes closed, ears passive, body still. Treat this as the restraint-fire into which the organs are dropped. Over weeks, this preparatory withdrawal thins the habitual grasping that prevents clear perception of one's own awareness.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Before a meal or any sensory pleasure, pause and consciously redirect the sense-inclination toward Bhagavān—not suppressing appetite but offering the wanting itself as service. The food becomes prasāda; the inclination that sought it becomes kainkarya. The discipline is in the direction given to desire, not in its extinction.

show all 6

Dvaita

When exhausted by effort to curb a persistent habit, recall that the restraint is not yours to generate alone—Hari's sustaining grace is the actual fire. Pray specifically for that grace before attempting restraint; the prayer acknowledges dependence and removes the self-reliance that breeds pride even in austerity.

Śuddhādvaita

A householder can practice Vallabha's offering by fully attending to whatever sense-experience is present—the taste, the sound—without accumulating it as 'mine.' Full presence without ownership dissolves the sense-object into the fire of the sense-faculty. Each ordinary moment of engaged awareness becomes an act of Puṣṭi (nourishment) returned to Kṛṣṇa.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's two-path structure suggests a diagnostic: identify which mode is natural today—are you in a period of life calling for withdrawal (naiṣṭhika mode) or engagement (gṛhastha mode)? Forcing the wrong mode creates friction that is not tapas but mere conflict. Matching practice to life-phase is itself skillful discernment (viveka).

Advaita-Bhakti

Use Madhusūdana's map to audit a meditation sitting: which of the four limbs—pratyāhāra (withdrawal), dhāraṇā (fixation), dhyāna (flow), samādhi (absorption)—was actually reached today? Naming the limb honestly prevents the common inflation of restless sitting into 'deep meditation,' and shows which specific fire still needs feeding.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 4, Verse 26: Krishna to Arjuna — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga