Kanha

The Bhagavad Gita in simple English

By Siddharth Sharma, creator of Kanha. Updated .

This is the Bhagavad Gita in simple English: six of the most quoted verses, each with the translation, a one-line meaning in everyday words, and a short explanation.

What "simple English" means here

Two different things make the Gita hard to read. One is the wording of the translation, which can sound old. The other is the ideas, which are compressed. So each verse below has three layers: the translation as it is, a single sentence of what it says, and a few lines on what it means.

To see where each verse sits in the book, use the chapter summaries: 2.20 and 2.47 are in chapter 2, 4.7 is in chapter 4, 6.5 in chapter 6, 9.26 in chapter 9 and 18.66 in chapter 18. New to the book? Start with the beginner's guide.

2.20: The self does not die

This is never born, nor does it die. It is not that, not having been, it again comes into being. This is unborn, eternal, changeless, ever itself. It is not killed when the body is killed. Bhagavad Gita 2.20

In plain English: The soul was never born, so it never dies. The body ends. It does not.

This is the verse people quote for the Gita's central claim about the self. Everything that changes, being born, growing old, dying, is described as happening to the body. The one who is aware of all of it, the self, is not born and does not die. Krishna says this to Arjuna because Arjuna is afraid of killing people he loves, so the verse is meant as comfort as much as philosophy.

2.47: Effort, not outcome

Your right is to work only, but never to the fruits thereof. Do not be the producer of the fruits of your actions; neither let your attachment be towards inaction. Bhagavad Gita 2.47

In plain English: Your job is the effort. The outcome was never actually yours to hold onto.

Probably the most quoted line in the Gita. It says you have a claim on the work and no claim on how things turn out, and it adds that this is not permission to do nothing. In practice it is a way of caring about the effort while loosening your grip on the result.

4.7: When balance breaks down

Whenever, O descendant of Bharata, there is decline of Dharma, and rise of Adharma, then I embody Myself. Bhagavad Gita 4.7

In plain English: When things tip badly enough in the wrong direction, that is when help arrives.

Krishna says that when what is right declines and what is wrong rises, he comes into the world to restore the balance. Readers take this in different ways: as a promise about the divine, as a pattern in history, or as a reminder that the world tends to correct itself. The next verse, 4.8, gives the purpose: to protect the good, to destroy wrongdoing and to re-establish right living.

6.5: The mind as friend or enemy

A man should uplift himself by his own self, so let him not weaken this self. For this self is the friend of oneself, and this self is the enemy of oneself. Bhagavad Gita 6.5

In plain English: The same mind can lift you up or drag you down, and which it does depends on how you train it.

The Gita puts the responsibility on the person. Nobody else gets the credit or the blame for the state of your mind. The next verse, 6.6, adds that the mind is a friend to the one who has mastered it and an enemy to the one who has not.

9.26: The smallest offering

Whoever with devotion offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, that I accept, the devout gift of the pure-minded. Bhagavad Gita 9.26

In plain English: An offering does not have to be large. It has to be real.

A leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water, given with real devotion, is enough. The verse separates the size of a gift from the feeling behind it and says the feeling is what counts. It is one of the warmest verses in the Gita.

18.66: Let go and surrender

Relinquishing all Dharmas take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate you from all sins; grieve not. Bhagavad Gita 18.66

In plain English: The most radical instruction in the book comes near the end: let go of every other duty and surrender completely.

Near the end of the whole teaching Krishna gives what he calls the most secret instruction: let go of everything you have been holding as duty, take refuge in him alone, and do not grieve. He promises liberation. Readers and commentators interpret "all Dharmas" in different ways, so this is a verse to read slowly and return to.

How to read any verse in plain English

  1. Read the translation once, without stopping at words you do not know.
  2. Say in one sentence what the verse claims, as if to a friend.
  3. Ask who is speaking, to whom, and why now. The Gita is a conversation, and context changes the meaning.
  4. Notice what changes for Arjuna if he takes it seriously.

For a full first reading, follow the daily plan, or use the chapter summaries to see where each verse sits.

Translation: Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (public domain, full text online), with old pronouns updated. Explanations are Kanha's own words. For why these ideas matter day to day, see the benefits of reading the Gita daily.

Frequently asked questions

Why do some translations say "thou" and "thee"?

Older translations were written in the English of their time. Swami Swarupananda's translation dates from 1909, so the original uses old pronouns. Kanha updates those pronouns and leaves the rest of his wording alone.

Is a plain-English explanation the same as a translation?

No. A translation says what the Sanskrit says. An explanation says what it means and why it matters. Kanha shows the translation on the front of each card and the plain explanation on the back, so you can see both.