I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshvaku.

This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time, the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.

Today I've revealed this ancient yoga to you, Because you are my devotee and friend, it's true;
This secret is indeed supreme and sublime, Know it well, O dear friend of mine ||

You mentioned a previous birth to Vivasvan, the sun-god, and now you are present before me. How can I understand that you spoke about this at the beginning?

"Many births of mine and yours have passed, O Arjuna. I know them all, but you do not, O chastiser of foes."

Although I am unborn and my transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in my original transcendental form.

Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and an increase in unrighteousness, O Arjuna, at that time I manifest Myself.

To deliver the righteous, to destroy the wicked, and to reestablish the principles of dharma, I appear age after age.

One who knows the divine nature of My birth and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.

Being freed from attachment, fear, and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me - and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.

As people surrender unto me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows my path in all respects, O son of Pritha.

"The celestial gods worship by enduring rituals; they quickly achieve success in this human world, born of actions."

The four varnas were created by Me based on people's qualities and actions. Although I am the creator of this system, know me to be the non-doer and eternal.

"Not on me do actions impinge, nor do I seek the fruits of actions. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions."

Knowing thus, even the seekers of liberation in ancient times performed their duties; therefore, following their footsteps, you should perform your duty.

What is action and what is inaction? Even the wise are confused here. Therefore, I will explain to you what action is, knowing which you should be liberated from the inauspicious.

One should understand the nature of work, the nature of forbidden work, and also the nature of inaction. The path of work is intricate.

One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, such a person is wise among humans, and is considered a yogi, always engaged in perfect action.

Those whose every undertaking is free from desire and self-will, whose actions are burnt by the fire of knowledge, they call them wise, enlightened individuals.

Abandoning attachment to the fruits of actions, always satisfied, and free from dependence, one who is engaged in the duties of life, does not perform any action merely as a matter of duty.

A person who is without expectation, with a mind detached, who has renounced all possessions, and performs only bodily duties, incurs no sin.

One who is content with whatever comes by chance, beyond dualities, free from envy, equipoised in success and failure, such a person is not bound even while performing actions.

One who is free from attachment, whose mind is established in knowledge, and who works for the sake of sacrifice, is liberated from all sinful reactions and is in perfect harmony with the Supreme.

The act of offering is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, offered by Brahman in the fire of Brahman; Brahman alone is to be reached by him who sees Brahman in every action.

Some yogis worship the celestial gods through sacrifice, while others offer sacrifices directly into the fire of Brahman.

Some offer hearing and other senses into the fires of control; others offer sound and different sense objects into the fires of the senses.

Others, offering all the functions of the senses and the actions of the life breath into the fire of the yoga of self-control, lightened by knowledge.

Some perform sacrifices with material possessions, others with severe austerity, while some practice the yoga of self-restraint; yet others study the scriptures with wisdom, all striving to observe vows rigidly.

Some offer the outgoing breath into the incoming breath, and the incoming breath into the outgoing breath, while others practice breath restraint by offering the incoming breath into itself.
Still others curtail their eating habits and offer the vital air as sacrifice into the vital air itself.
All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become cleansed of sinful reactions, but those who do not know the purpose of sacrifice continue in the cycle of birth and death.

Some offer the outgoing breath into the incoming breath, and the incoming breath into the outgoing breath, while others practice breath restraint by offering the incoming breath into itself.
Still others curtail their eating habits and offer the vital air as sacrifice into the vital air itself.
All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become cleansed of sinful reactions, but those who do not know the purpose of sacrifice continue in the cycle of birth and death.

Those who partake of the remnants of the sacrifice attain the eternal Brahman; this world is not for one who does not perform sacrifices, so how can they have other worlds, O best among the Kurus?

Thus, various kinds of sacrifices spread out before the mouth of the Creator.
Understand them all to be born of action; knowing this, you will be liberated.

O scorcher of foes (Arjuna), the sacrifice performed with material objects (such as offerings) is inferior to the sacrifice of knowledge. Know that all actions in their entirety culminate in knowledge, O Partha.

Learn about this by humble reverence, by inquiry, and by service. The wise, who have realized the Truth, will impart wisdom to you.

"Knowing which, you shall not again fall into delusion, O Arjuna, like this, by which you shall see all beings in your own self and also in Me."

Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners, you shall cross over all sin by the raft of knowledge alone.

Just as a blazing fire turns fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.

There is no purifier in this world equal to knowledge. A person who has attained perfection in yoga finds it within oneself in due course of time.

The faithful, with a disciplined mind and subdued senses, attain wisdom. Having obtained wisdom, they soon attain supreme peace.

The ignorant, the faithless, and the doubting soul perish, for the doubting soul neither knows happiness here nor thereafter.

One who has renounced attachment to the fruits of their actions, whose doubts have been destroyed by knowledge, and who is self-realized, their actions do not bind them, O Arjuna.

Therefore, O Arjuna, with the sword of knowledge, sever the doubts in your heart, arising from ignorance. Establish yourself in yoga and stand up to fight.