Below are 100 significant shlokas from the Bhagavad Gita, covering key teachings on duty, self-control, karma, devotion, and liberation, listed with their shloka numbers and one-line English descriptions.
- 1.28: Arjuna feels compassion and sorrow at the sight of his kin ready to fight.
- 1.46: Arjuna drops his bow, overcome by sorrow, unwilling to fight.
- 2.7: Arjuna, confused, surrenders to Krishna as his disciple, seeking guidance.
- 2.12: Krishna explains that souls exist forever, beyond birth and death.
- 2.13: The soul transitions through bodies, like changing clothes, without perishing.
- 2.20: The soul is never born nor dies, remaining eternal and unchanging.
- 2.22: The soul discards old bodies and takes new ones, like worn-out garments.
- 2.27: Death is certain for the born, and birth follows death, so avoid sorrow.
- 2.31: As a Kshatriya, Arjuna must uphold his duty to fight righteously.
- 2.38: Fight with equanimity, treating victory and defeat equally, to avoid sin.
- 2.47: Act without attachment to results, focusing only on duty.
- 2.48: Perform actions with equanimity, unaffected by success or failure.
- 2.50: A wise person transcends both good and evil deeds through yoga.
- 2.51: The wise, detached from results, attain liberation from rebirth.
- 2.55: Krishna says the wise abandon desires, finding joy in the self.
- 2.58: The sage controls senses like a tortoise retracting its limbs.
- 2.61: Controlling senses by focusing on Krishna leads to stability.
- 2.62: Attachment to sense objects breeds desire, anger, and delusion.
- 2.63: Delusion clouds wisdom, leading to spiritual ruin.
- 2.64: Freedom from attachment and aversion brings inner clarity.
- 2.71: Renouncing desires, the sage finds peace without ego.
- 2.72: Attaining this state ensures liberation, even at life’s end.
- 3.8: Perform prescribed duties, as action is better than inaction.
- 3.9: Selfless action as sacrifice frees one from karmic bondage.
- 3.19: Perform duties selflessly to attain the supreme goal.
- 3.27: Actions arise from gunas, yet the ego claims doership.
- 3.30: Dedicate all actions to Krishna, free from desire and ego.
- 3.35: Following one’s own duty is better than another’s, even if imperfect.
- 3.43: Knowing the soul’s supremacy, conquer desire with disciplined intellect.
- 4.7: Krishna incarnates whenever dharma declines and adharma rises.
- 4.8: Krishna descends to protect the righteous and destroy evil.
- 4.9: Knowing Krishna’s divine birth leads to liberation.
- 4.14: Krishna, unattached to actions, is untouched by karma.
- 4.18: Seeing inaction in action and action in inaction is true wisdom.
- 4.37: Wisdom’s fire burns all karma, like fire consumes wood.
- 4.38: Nothing purifies like knowledge, attained through yoga.
- 5.10: Offering actions to Brahman, one is untouched by sin.
- 5.11: Yogis act with body and mind, detached from results.
- 5.19: Those with equal vision conquer rebirth in this life.
- 5.24: Inner joy and light lead to liberation in Brahman.
- 5.26: The self-controlled, desire-free yogi quickly finds peace.
- 6.5: Elevate the self through discipline, not degradation.
- 6.6: The controlled mind is a friend; the uncontrolled is a foe.
- 6.15: Constant meditation leads to supreme peace in Krishna.
- 6.16: Balance in eating and sleeping aids successful yoga.
- 6.18: The disciplined mind, fixed on the self, is free from desire.
- 6.26: Bring the wandering mind back to the self with discipline.
- 6.35: Krishna says discipline and detachment can control the restless mind.
- 6.40: Krishna assures that no effort in yoga is ever wasted.
- 6.45: With persistent effort, the yogi attains liberation.
- 7.16: Four types of virtuous people worship Krishna for various motives.
- 7.19: After many births, the wise surrender, knowing Krishna as all.
- 7.29: Those seeking liberation from old age and death know Krishna.
- 8.5: Remembering Krishna at death ensures union with him.
- 8.6: The final thought at death shapes one’s next existence.
- 8.7: Constantly think of Krishna and fight, dedicating actions to him.
- 8.14: Constant devotion to Krishna makes him easily attainable.
- 8.15: Great souls, reaching Krishna, escape rebirth’s suffering.
- 8.16: All worlds, even Brahma’s, are subject to rebirth, unlike Krishna’s realm.
- 8.24: Departing in light, day, or auspicious times leads to liberation.
- 8.26: The path of light leads to liberation, eternal and supreme.
- 9.2: This royal knowledge, pure and direct, grants liberation.
- 9.26: Krishna accepts even a leaf offered with pure devotion.
- 9.27: Offer all actions—eating, sacrificing, or giving—to Krishna.
- 9.28: Offering actions to Krishna frees one from karmic bonds.
- 9.34: Fix the mind on Krishna, serve him, and attain him.
- 10.3: Knowing Krishna as unborn and supreme grants liberation.
- 10.8: Krishna is the origin of all, and the wise worship him.
- 10.20: Krishna is the self within all beings, their beginning and end.
- 11.32: Krishna declares himself as time, destroyer of worlds.
- 11.54: Only pure devotion allows one to see Krishna’s form.
- 11.55: Devotion, selfless action, and surrender lead to Krishna.
- 12.2: Krishna says devoted worshipers of his form are best.
- 12.6-7: Krishna rescues devotees who surrender all actions to him.
- 12.8: Fix the mind on Krishna to dwell in him always.
- 13.18: Knowing Brahman as field, knower, and knowledge grants liberation.
- 13.30: Seeing all beings as one in Brahman brings liberation.
- 13.34: Knowing the distinction between field and knower leads to liberation.
- 14.5: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas bind the soul to the body.
- 14.14: Dying in Sattva leads to higher, pure realms.
- 14.15: Dying in Rajas or Tamas leads to lower births.
- 14.20: Transcending gunas frees one from birth and death.
- 15.5: The humble and detached attain Krishna’s eternal abode.
- 15.6: Krishna’s realm, beyond sun or fire, is eternal.
- 15.7: The soul, a fragment of Krishna, is trapped by senses.
- 15.8: The soul carries mind and senses across bodies.
- 16.1-3: Divine qualities like fearlessness and purity lead to liberation.
- 16.21: Lust, anger, and greed are gates to hell.
- 16.22: Avoiding these gates leads to the soul’s highest good.
- 18.2: Krishna defines renunciation as giving up desire-driven acts.
- 18.9: Sattvic renunciation is performing duty without attachment.
- 18.46: Worshipping Krishna through duty leads to perfection.
- 18.50: Krishna explains how to attain Brahman through perfection.
- 18.54: The Brahman-realized soul, free from desire, serves Krishna.
- 18.55: Devotion reveals Krishna’s true essence, attaining him.
- 18.56: Krishna’s grace ensures success for devoted yogis.
- 18.62: Surrender to Krishna for supreme peace and abode.
- 18.65: Fix the mind on Krishna for certain liberation.
- 18.66: Abandon all duties and surrender to Krishna for freedom.
- 18.78: Where Krishna and Arjuna are, victory and dharma prevail.
Total: 100 shlokas
Notes
- Selection Criteria: The 100 shlokas were chosen for their profound impact across all themes: Arjuna’s Dilemma (2 shlokas, e.g., 1.28, 2.7), Nature of the Soul (5 shlokas, e.g., 2.12, 2.20), Karma Yoga (12 shlokas, e.g., 2.47, 3.19), Jnana Yoga (10 shlokas, e.g., 2.55, 4.38), Bhakti Yoga (22 shlokas, e.g., 9.34, 12.8), Dhyana Yoga (9 shlokas, e.g., 6.5, 6.35), Three Gunas (6 shlokas, e.g., 14.5, 14.20), Krishna’s Divine Nature (11 shlokas, e.g., 4.7, 11.32), Divine and Demonic Qualities (3 shlokas, e.g., 16.1-3), and Liberation (20 shlokas, e.g., 8.15, 18.66). The selection prioritizes teachings on duty, self-control, devotion, and liberation.