Sacred verses
Timeless shlokas from the Bhagavad Gita, Vedas, and Upanishads — preserved in Sanskrit, romanised for sound, and rendered into English meaning.
Shloka of the day
सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः।
satyam eva jayate nānṛtaṁ satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ
Truth alone triumphs, never falsehood. Through truth the divine path is laid out.
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥
karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stv akarmaṇi
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but never to its fruits. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your actions, and never be attached to inaction.
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत। अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and a rise in unrighteousness, O Arjuna, at that time I manifest Myself on earth.
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि- न्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः। अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
The soul is never born, nor does it ever die; it has not come into being, nor will it cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval; it is not slain when the body is slain.
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज। अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः॥
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते। तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम्॥
ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham
To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they come to Me, and I personally carry what they lack and preserve what they have.
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्। आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः॥
uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
One must elevate, not degrade, oneself by one’s own mind. The mind alone is one’s friend as well as one’s enemy.
ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय। मृत्योर्माऽमृतं गमय। ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः॥
oṁ asato mā sadgamaya tamaso mā jyotirgamaya mṛtyor mā ’mṛtaṁ gamaya oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Om, peace, peace, peace.
तत्त्वमसि।
tat tvam asi
That thou art — you are that ultimate reality (Brahman).
ॐ ईशा वास्यमिदं सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत्। तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्॥
oṁ īśā vāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasyasvid dhanam
All this — whatever exists in this changing universe — is pervaded by the Lord. Enjoy through renunciation; do not covet anyone’s wealth.
सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः।
satyam eva jayate nānṛtaṁ satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ
Truth alone triumphs, never falsehood. Through truth the divine path is laid out.
अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम्। होतारं रत्नधातमम्॥
agnim īḷe purohitaṁ yajñasya devam ṛtvijam hotāraṁ ratna-dhātamam
I glorify Agni, the high priest of the sacrifice, the divine, the ministrant, who presents the oblations and is the bestower of treasure.
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः। तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि। धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्॥
oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur vareṇyaṁ bhargo devasya dhīmahi dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt
We meditate upon the radiant glory of the divine Savitr (Sun); may he illumine our intellects.
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति
ekaṁ sad viprā bahudhā vadanti
Truth is one; the wise call it by many names.
Rigveda affirming the one underlying reality behind many divine forms.
ईशा वास्यमिदं सर्वं
īśā vāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ
All this — whatever moves in this moving world — is enveloped by the Lord.
Opening of the Isha Upanishad, embedded in the Yajurveda.
माता भूमिः पुत्रोऽहं पृथिव्याः
mātā bhūmiḥ putro'haṁ pṛthivyāḥ
The Earth is my mother; I am her son.
Bhumi Sukta — a hymn of reverence for the Earth.
असतो मा सद्गमय
asato mā sad gamaya
Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
The Pavamana mantra — one of the most beloved Upanishadic prayers.
तत्त्वमसि
tat tvam asi
That thou art.
Mahavakya from the Chandogya — Uddalaka instructing Shvetaketu on the identity of self and Brahman.
ओमित्येतदक्षरमिदं सर्वम्
om ity etad akṣaram idaṁ sarvam
Om — this syllable is all this.
The opening of the Mandukya Upanishad on the syllable Om.
सत्यमेव जयते
satyam eva jayate
Truth alone triumphs.
The national motto of India, drawn from the Mundaka Upanishad.
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य
yadā yadā hi dharmasya
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, I manifest myself.
Krishna explains the purpose of his avatars.
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां
ananyāś cintayanto māṁ
To those who worship me with undivided devotion, I bring what they lack and protect what they have.
Krishna's promise of yoga-kshema.
यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते
yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante
That from which all beings are born, in which they live, and to which they return — know that as Brahman.
A definition of Brahman echoed across the Puranas.
वदन्ति तत्तत्त्वविदस्तत्त्वं
vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ
The knowers of truth say that the non-dual reality is called Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan.
Bhagavata's famous formulation of one truth in three aspects.
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः
śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ
Better is one's own dharma, though imperfectly done, than the dharma of another well performed.
Krishna on the primacy of one's own dharma.
