Bhagavad Gita
The timeless dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna.
18 chapters · 700 verses
1. Arjuna Vishada Yoga
47 verses
Arjuna surveys both armies, is overwhelmed by grief at the thought of killing his own kin, and lays down his bow.
2. Sankhya Yoga
72 verses
Krishna's teaching begins: the self is deathless, and steady wisdom comes from acting without craving the fruit.
3. Karma Yoga
43 verses
No one can stay actionless for a moment; the way out is selfless action offered as sacrifice, not withdrawal.
4. Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga
42 verses
Krishna reveals why he takes birth age after age, and how the fire of knowledge burns away the bonds of karma.
5. Karma Sanyasa Yoga
29 verses
Renunciation and selfless action lead to the same goal; the one who acts without attachment stays untouched by it.
6. Dhyana Yoga
47 verses
The discipline of meditation — seat, diet, and a steadied mind — and the promise that no effort at yoga is ever lost.
7. Jnana Vijnana Yoga
30 verses
Krishna describes his lower and higher natures, the veil of maya, and the four kinds of people who turn to him.
8. Akshara Brahma Yoga
28 verses
What Brahman, the self, and action are — and why the thought held at the final hour shapes what follows.
9. Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga
34 verses
The sovereign secret: the divine dwells in all, and a leaf, a flower, or water offered with love is fully received.
10. Vibhuti Yoga
42 verses
Krishna names his glories — whatever is finest of its kind — as footholds for a mind trying to grasp the infinite.
11. Vishwaroopa Darshana Yoga
55 verses
Arjuna is given divine sight and sees the universal form — all worlds and all time, devouring and creating at once.
12. Bhakti Yoga
20 verses
Is the personal or the formless path better? Krishna answers, then describes the devotee who is dear to him.
13. Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga
34 verses
The body as a field and the self as its knower; how nature does the acting while the witness within stays free.
14. Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga
27 verses
The three gunas — clarity, restlessness, and inertia — how each one binds, and what it looks like to pass beyond them.
15. Purushottama Yoga
20 verses
The world as an inverted tree to be cut with detachment, and the Supreme Person beyond the perishable and imperishable.
16. Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga
24 verses
Two temperaments set side by side: the divine qualities that free a person, and the demonic ones that bind.
17. Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga
28 verses
Faith takes the colour of a person's own nature — visible in their food, worship, austerity, and giving.
18. Moksha Sanyasa Yoga
78 verses
The longest chapter gathers the whole teaching and ends in surrender: let go of all else and take refuge.