Today's Goal
By the end of today, you will independently read and appreciate three of the most beloved verses of the Bhagavad Gita in their original Sanskrit, using every skill you've built over the past two weeks.
Verse 1: BG 2.22 — The Garment Metaphor
Krishna compares the soul changing bodies to a person changing clothes. This is one of the Gita's most accessible and beautiful metaphors.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि | vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro'parāṇi | Just as a person discards worn-out garments and puts on new ones |
| तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही | tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny anyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī | So the embodied soul discards worn-out bodies and enters new ones |
BG 2.22 — Word by Word
Let's break down the key words. Try to identify them yourself before reading the explanations.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| वासांसि | vāsāṃsi | garments — neuter plural, accusative (object) |
| जीर्णानि | jīrṇāni | worn out, old — neuter plural adjective agreeing with vāsāṃsi |
| यथा ... तथा | yathā ... tathā | just as ... so — a comparison pair (learn this pattern!) |
| विहाय | vihāya | having discarded — absolutive (gerund) of vi+√hā |
| नवानि | navāni | new — neuter plural adjective |
| गृह्णाति | gṛhṇāti | takes, puts on — from √grah (to seize/take), 3rd sg. present |
| नरः | naraḥ | a person — nominative singular (the doer) |
| शरीराणि | śarīrāṇi | bodies — neuter plural, accusative |
| देही | dehī | the embodied one (the soul that dwells in a body) — nominative singular |
Verse 2: BG 4.7 — The Divine Descent
Krishna reveals why he incarnates in every age — whenever dharma declines and adharma rises. This verse is the foundation of the avatāra doctrine.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत | yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata | Whenever there is a decline of dharma, O Bhārata |
| अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् | abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham | And a rise of adharma — then I create myself (I incarnate) |
BG 4.7 — Word by Word
Notice how the grammar reveals the meaning precisely.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| यदा यदा | yadā yadā | whenever, whenever — the repetition adds emphasis: WHENEVER |
| हि | hi | indeed, for — emphatic particle |
| धर्मस्य | dharmasya | of dharma — genitive case (-asya = 'of') |
| ग्लानिः | glāniḥ | decline, diminishing — nominative (subject) |
| भवति | bhavati | comes to be, happens — from √bhū, 3rd sg. present |
| अभ्युत्थानम् | abhyutthānam | rise, ascendancy — a compound: abhi + ut + √sthā (standing up against) |
| अधर्मस्य | adharmasya | of adharma (unrighteousness) — genitive case |
| तदा | tadā | then — correlative of yadā (whenever...then) |
| आत्मानम् | ātmānam | myself — accusative of ātman (the Self/myself) |
| सृजामि | sṛjāmi | I create, I manifest — from √sṛj, 1st person singular (-mi ending!) |
| अहम् | aham | I — Krishna speaking: 'I create myself' |
Verse 3: BG 18.66 — The Ultimate Surrender
The Gita's grand finale. Krishna's final teaching: let go of everything and take refuge in the divine alone. This is called the carama śloka (final/ultimate verse) by many traditions.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज | sarvadharmān parityajya mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja | Abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in me alone |
| अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः | ahaṃ tvā sarvapāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ | I shall liberate you from all sins — do not grieve |
BG 18.66 — Word by Word
Every grammar concept you've learned is here: compounds, cases, verbs, sandhi.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| सर्वधर्मान् | sarvadharmān | all dharmas — sarva+dharma compound, accusative plural (object) |
| परित्यज्य | parityajya | having abandoned — absolutive of pari+√tyaj (completely letting go) |
| माम् | mām | me — accusative of 'I' (Krishna speaking) |
| एकम् | ekam | alone, only — accusative, agreeing with mām |
| शरणम् | śaraṇam | refuge, shelter — accusative (object) |
| व्रज | vraja | go! take! — imperative of √vraj (to go), 2nd person sg. |
| अहम् | aham | I (Krishna) |
| त्वा | tvā | you (Arjuna) — accusative enclitic |
| सर्वपापेभ्यः | sarvapāpebhyaḥ | from all sins — sarva+pāpa compound, ablative plural (-ebhyaḥ = 'from') |
| मोक्षयिष्यामि | mokṣayiṣyāmi | I shall liberate — future tense, 1st person, causative of √muc (to free) |
| मा शुचः | mā śucaḥ | do not grieve — mā (don't) + śucaḥ (grieve, from √śuc) |
What You've Achieved
In 14 days, you went from zero Sanskrit to reading three of the Gita's most famous verses in the original. You can now: read Devanagari script, apply IAST transliteration, split sandhi, recognize case endings, identify verb forms, parse compounds, and appreciate the beauty of the original Sanskrit. You haven't just learned about Sanskrit — you've started reading it.
Gītā Connection
These three verses span the Gita's entire arc: BG 2.22 (Chapter 2) teaches the eternal nature of the soul, BG 4.7 (Chapter 4) reveals why the divine incarnates, and BG 18.66 (Chapter 18) delivers the ultimate teaching of surrender. Together, they capture the Gita's essence: the Self is eternal, God descends to restore dharma, and liberation comes through surrender. You can now appreciate all three in the language they were composed in.
Practice
Read all three verses aloud in Devanagari. Take your time. Let the sounds flow.
- BG 2.22: वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि। तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही॥
- BG 4.7: यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत। अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्॥
- BG 18.66: सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज। अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः॥
For each verse, identify: (a) the main verb, (b) one sandhi example, (c) one compound word.
- BG 2.22: verb = गृह्णाति (gṛhṇāti, takes); sandhi = नरोऽपराणि (naraḥ + aparāṇi); compound = शरीराणि (not a compound, but जीर्णानि is an adjective)
- BG 4.7: verb = भवति (bhavati, happens) and सृजामि (sṛjāmi, I create); sandhi = ग्लानिर्भवति (glāniḥ + bhavati); compound = अभ्युत्थानम् (abhi+ut+sthāna, rising up)
- BG 18.66: verb = व्रज (vraja, go!) and मोक्षयिष्यामि (mokṣayiṣyāmi, I shall liberate); sandhi = मामेकम् (mām + ekam); compound = सर्वधर्मान् (sarva+dharma, all dharmas)
Final practice: Close your eyes, take a breath, and recite any one of these three verses from memory — or as close to memory as you can manage. Even a partial recitation is a triumph.
- Choose your favorite of the three verses and recite it.
Recap
You've completed the 14-day Sanskrit journey. You read three of the Gita's most iconic verses — the garment metaphor (2.22), the divine descent (4.7), and the ultimate surrender (18.66) — using skills you've built from scratch: Devanagari script, IAST transliteration, vowel marks, conjuncts, sandhi, cases, verbs, vocabulary, and compounds. You can now approach any Gita verse and begin to unlock its meaning in the original Sanskrit.
Coming Tomorrow
Your Sanskrit foundation is built. From here, you can deepen your journey: study more grammar, learn additional vocabulary, or simply continue reading the Gita verse by verse — each one will be a little easier than the last. The original Sanskrit is no longer a closed door. You have the key.