Bhagavad Gita 16.24तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ।ज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुमिहार्हसि ॥
tasmāch chhāstraṁ pramāṇaṁ te
kāryākārya-vyavasthitau jñātvā śhāstra-vidhānoktaṁ karma kartum ihārhasi
Sanskrit recitation
Choose a guide wiser than impulse · 16.17–16.24 · Teaching
Translation
Therefore, let the scripture be thy authority in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures, thou shouldst act in this world.
Hindi translation
अतः तेरे लिये कर्तव्य-अकर्तव्यकी व्यवस्थामें शास्त्र ही प्रमाण है -- ऐसा जानकर तू इस लोकमें शास्त्र-विधिसे नियत कर्तव्य कर्म करनेयोग्य है।
Meaning
He who desires the welfare of the Self should not disregard the ,nds of the scriptures. A man who is anxious to obtain eternal bliss should respect the Vedas and the Smritis which lay down the code of right conduct. He should readily renounce whatever the scriptures teach him to abandon and accept whatever he is directed to accept.He who is thus entirely devoted to the Vedas cannot meet with misfortune, grief or delusion. No mother is more kind than the scriptures for they restrain us from doing evil and bestow on us the greatest good (liberation or Moksha). Therefore treat the scriptures with great respect. Renounce all that the scriptures prohibit. Whatever is worthy of being done, that thou shouldst do thoroughly with all thy heart and all thy strength.
After Swami Sivananda
Choose a guide wiser than impulse· 16.17–16.24→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 16.17Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform…
- 16.18Given over to egoism, power, haughtiness, lust, and anger, these malicious people hate Me…
- 16.19Those cruel haters, the worst among men in the world, I hurl those evil-doers into the…
- 16.20Entering into demoniacal wombs and deluded, birth after birth, they do not attain Me, thus…
- 16.21There are three gates to this hell, destructive of the self: lust, anger, and greed;…
- 16.22A person who is liberated from these three gates of darkness, O Arjuna, practices what is…
- 16.23He who, having cast aside the ordinances of the scriptures, acts under the impulse of…
16.24Therefore, let the scripture be thy authority in determining what ought to be done and…
Word-by-word→
- te
- your
- iha
- in this world
- karma
- actions
- uktam
- as revealed
- arhasi
- you should
- kartum
- perform
- kārya
- duty
- akārya
- forbidden action
- tasmāt
- therefore
- vidhāna
- injunctions
- jñātvā
- having understood
- śhāstra
- scriptures
- śhāstram
- scriptures
- pramāṇam
- authority
- vyavasthitau
- in determining
Related verses
- 16.4Hypocrisy, arrogance, and self-conceit, anger, harshness, and ignorance—these belong to…
- 9.27Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give,…
- 12.13He who hates no creature, is friendly and compassionate to all, is free from attachment…
- 17.28Whatever is sacrificed, given, or performed, and whatever austerity is practiced without…