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Chapter 17 · Verse 14 · Sraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 17.14

devotional Dharma & Duty Bhakti & Devotion Self & Identity

Sanskrit

देवद्विजगुरुप्राज्ञपूजनं शौचमार्जवम्।ब्रह्मचर्यमहिंसा च शारीरं तप उच्यते।।17.14।।

Transliteration

deva-dwija-guru-prājña- pūjanaṁ śhaucham ārjavam brahmacharyam ahinsā cha śhārīraṁ tapa uchyate

Word by Word

deva the Supreme Lord
dwija the Brahmins
guru the spiritual master
prājña the elders
pūjanam worship
śhaucham cleanliness
ārjavam simplicity
brahmacharyam celibacy
ahinsā non-violence
cha and
śhārīram of the body
tapaḥ austerity
uchyate is declared as
Simplified Perspective

The body is not the self, yet it is the temple through which the self serves. Krishna reveals here that bodily austerity means honoring the divine in all beings—through reverence to teachers and elders, through the discipline of simplicity, celibacy, and non-violence—not through self-mortification or pride.

When you worship the sacred in others and maintain inner and outer cleanliness, you transform your physical form into an instrument of grace. In daily life, this means treating your body as a sacred responsibility: speaking truth simply, consuming mindfully, moving through the world without causing harm, and bowing inwardly to the wisdom in every teacher who crosses your path.

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Bhagavad Gita 17.14 — BG 17.14

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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