Top 10 Most Cherished Bhagavad Geeta Shlokas

One of the most revered texts in the world is the Bhagavad Gita, also interpreted as the Divine Song. It is like an ever-present companion for people from all walks of life. In this ancient Indian scripture, Lord Krishna addressed a series of hymns to Arjuna on the battleground of Kurukshetra. People of the present era are increasingly discovering that, despite the availability of material luxuries, there is an emptiness in their lives that needs to be filled. There is no other source that can help one fill this void as the sacrosanct Bhagavad Gita can. All the teachings in the Gita are appropriate for today’s restless and ever-wandering mind.  

In this blog, we will be looking at the ten most famous and perhaps most revered and followed Geeta shlokas: 

1.bhogaiśwvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛita-chetasām 
vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate (2.44)  

The shloka means that those who are excessively preoccupied with sensual pleasures and financial wealth, and who are perplexed by them, lack the strong commitment to devote their lives to the Supreme Lord. ‘Bhog’ (gratification) is important to those who are fascinated with sensual pleasure, and ‘Aishwarya’ (luxury) is one of them. They are unable to sustain the firm commitment required to pursue the path of God-realization because they are focused on maximizing their material goods. 

2.dhyāyato viṣhayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣhūpajāyate 
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate (2.62)  

According to this Geeta shloka, when a person perceives objects through their senses, attachment develops, leading to lust and fury. Lord Krishna provides extraordinary insight into the workings of the intellect in these and succeeding Gita shlokas. Desire, he claims, produces attachment. When desire deepens, it gives rise to two significant problems: greed and rage. Greed arises from the constant feeding of desire. 

3. krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ 
smṛiti-bhranśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati (2.63)  

This shloka talks about anger. Anger is inseparably linked to delusion, and delusion further leads to memory distortion. When one’s memory is warped, their intelligence is destroyed, and when intelligence is destroyed, they slip back into the material pool. When angry and covered by a thick veil of emotions, people tend to make decisions they later regret. The road from divinity to impiety has been described in this way, beginning with the study of sense objects, and culminating with the annihilation of the intellect. 

4. rāga-dveṣha-viyuktais tu viṣhayān indriyaiśh charan 
ātma-vaśhyair-vidheyātmā prasādam adhigachchhati (2.64)  

This Geeta shloka states that the Lord’s total mercy can only be obtained by those who can control their senses by implementing regulated principles of freedom, and experience independence from all forms of attachment and revulsion. When Lord Krishna tells us to let go of our attachments and desires, he solely means material affiliations and wants. When the mind is free of both attachments and aversion, it is completely focused on devotion to God, one receives God’s grace and enjoys his infinite bliss. 

5. śhrī bhagavān uvācha 
kāma eṣha krodha eṣha rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ 
mahāśhano mahā-pāpmā viddhyenam iha vairiṇam (3.37)  

Lust is our biggest enemy, per this shloka. It is only lust that is formed from contact with the material states of passion and then changed into wrath, which is the world’s all-devouring, wicked enemy, the Blessed Lord said to Arjuna. Shree Krishna identifies “desire” for material worldly pleasures as the source of sin, as the evil enticement that lives inside us. When a desire is satisfied, greed emerges; when it is not, contempt develops. One commits sins while under the grip of the three—lust, greed, and anger. 

6. bhūmir-āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva cha 
ahankāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛitir aṣhṭadhā (7.4)  

This shloka focuses on energy. One’s material energy is made up of eight facets: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and ego. The mind, intellect, and ego, as well as the five gross elements, are all expressions of Lord Shree Krishna’s material force. All these eight elements, he says in this verse, are essentially portions of Maya, his material force. In the next lyric, he describes another one of his excitation frequencies, the soul energy. 

7. apareyam itas tvanyāṁ prakṛitiṁ viddhi me parām 
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat (7.5)  

In this shloka, the lord recites that apart from this minor nature, there is a greater essence that incorporates all sentient creatures confronting material nature and preserving the cosmos. Shree Krishna teaches that there is another, far superior ‘prakiti’, or material energy, beyond the previously-mentioned eight-fold prakiti, which he considers inferior. Unlike dead matter, this energy is wholly ethereal. All the world’s living souls are encompassed by his spiritual force, ‘jiva’ shakti. 

8. ye hi sansparśha-jā bhogā duḥkha-yonaya eva te 
ādyantavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣhu ramate budhaḥ (5.22)  

The pleasures derived from interaction with sense objects, while appearing to be pleasurable to mortal beings, are in fact a continuous source of suffering. Such delights have a finite lifespan i.e. they have a beginning and an end, and as such the wise man ignores them. When the faculties encounter sense objects, they produce pleasurable experiences. Because worldly joys are finite, they are accompanied by a sense of insufficiency. Worldly joys are insensible, and as a result, they diminish over time. 

9. sarva-karmāṇi manasā sannyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśhī 
nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva kurvan na kārayan (5.13)  

In the city of nine gates, self-controlling and secluded corporal creatures dwell calmly, free of thoughts that they are the doers or authors of anything. Shree Krishna said in this Gita shloka that the incarnate soul is neither the implementer nor the cause of any action.  

  10. api chet su-durāchāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk 
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ (9.30)  

In this shloka, Lord Krishna expresses that even the most heinous sinners who worship, are to be accounted honourable since they have made a sensible decision. Shree Krishna declares that even the most heinous criminals should no longer be labelled as sinners if they begin to serve God entirely. They have made a pure decision and, because of their noble spiritual intention, should be called virtuous instead. 

In the aforementioned ten Bhagavad Geeta shlokas, lord Krishna expounds on various virtues and sins. According to the Gita, everybody who analyses Lord Krishna’s discussion with Arjuna marvels at Lord Krishna for their intellect. And simply by listening to this discourse with faith, a person could get rid of immoral reactions and, at the very least, attain some semblance of enlightenment. 

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