Bhagavad Gita BG 4.38
Chapter 4, Verse 38 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते । तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति ॥
na hi jnanena sadrisham pavitram iha vidyate tat svayam yoga-samsidhah kalenaTmani vindati
Meaning
There is indeed nothing as purifying as knowledge in this world. One who is perfected in yoga, in time, finds it within himself.
Understanding
Nothing — no ritual, no austerity, no sacred river — is as purifying as knowledge. Pavitram (pure, purifying) in its highest sense means that which leaves no trace of impurity. And the method: yoga-samsiddha (one perfected through yoga — the accumulated practice of karma yoga) discovers this knowledge kalena (in time, at the right moment) in atmani (within the Self). The knowledge is not imported from outside — it is found within.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सदृशम् | sadrisham | equal to, comparable to |
| पवित्रम् | pavitram | purifying, sanctifying, pure |
| योगसंसिद्धः | yoga-samsidhah | perfected through yoga, accomplished in yoga |
| कालेन | kalena | in time, through time |
| विन्दति | vindati | finds, discovers, attains |
| न हि | na hi | for there is not / certainly not |
| ज्ञानेन | jñānena | by knowledge / like knowledge |
| इह | iha | here / in this world |
| विद्यते | vidyate | exists / is found / is known |
| तत् | tat | that (purifier — knowledge) |
| स्वयम् | svayam | by oneself / automatically / in time |
| आत्मनि | ātmani | in oneself / within the self |