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Chapter 17 · Verse 27
🪈 Krishna speaks
Illustration for Chapter 17, Verse 27

यज्ञे तपसि दाने च स्थितिः सदिति चोच्यते। कर्म चैव तदर्थीयं सदित्येवाभिधीयते॥

yajñe tapasi dāne ca sthitiḥ saditi cocyate | karma caiva tadarthīyaṁ sadityevābhidhīyate ||

Word by Word 12 words
यज्ञे
yaj to worship, to sacrifice

in sacrifice, in worship

तपसि
tap to be austere, to discipline

in discipline, in austerity

दाने
dā to give

in giving, in charity

च
ca and

and

स्थितिः
sthā to stand, to remain firm

steadfastness, standing firm

सत्
as to be, to exist

'Sat' — the real, the good, the true

इति
iti thus, the quote-marker

thus, called by this name

उच्यते
vac to say, to call

is said, is called

कर्म
kṛ to do, to act man deed

action, deed

एव
eva indeed, just, surely

indeed, surely

तदर्थीयम्
tad that artha purpose, for the sake of īya relating to

for the sake of That, done for the Supreme

अभिधीयते
abhi towards dhā to set, to name, to declare

is named, is declared to be

says: "When you stand firm in sacrifice, in discipline, and in giving, staying steady and not giving up, that steadfastness is also called 'Sat.' And any act you do for the sake of That, for the Supreme, is called 'Sat' too. So 'Sat' means what is real and good, and also the faithful sticking-with-it, and every act offered up to the Boundless."

कथा

The One Who Did Not Let Go

From the upanishad

There was once a potter named Kushala who lived at the foot of a hill, and every morning he carried a pot of fresh water up to the small shrine at the top, where a single oil-lamp burned for the Boundless.

It was a long climb. The path was steep and the sun was hot. Some days his knees ached. Some days the rains turned the path to slippery mud. Some days no one was watching, and no one would have known if he had simply stayed home and rested.

But every single morning, Kushala climbed.

A traveller resting under a tree watched him do this for seven days in a row and finally called out, "Friend! Why bother? The lamp would not go out if you missed one day. No one is counting."

Kushala set down his pot to catch his breath. "Someone told me a word once," he said. "An old teacher passing through. He said that staying steady in your sacrifice, your discipline, and your giving, never letting go even when it is hard, even when no one sees, has a name. The name is 'Sat.' The same word that means what is real, and what is good."

"So your stubborn climbing has a holy name?" the traveller laughed.

"It is not stubbornness," said Kushala, smiling. "Anyone can climb once, the morning they feel like it. The steadiness is the offering. And the teacher said one more thing — that any act you do for the sake of the Supreme, not for yourself, is 'Sat' as well. I do not carry this water for praise. I carry it for That — for the Boundless the little lamp stands for. So the climb is not a chore. The climb is the prayer."

He lifted his pot and went on up the hill, steady step after steady step.

The traveller sat a long time. The next morning, before the sun was fully up, he found himself walking to the well, filling a pot of his own, and turning his face toward the hill.

चिन्तनम्

It is easy to do a good thing once, when you feel like it. What helps you stay steady and keep going — with kindness, practice, or a promise — even on the hard days when no one is watching?