Discover Krishna's final words to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. Analysis of BG 18.65-66, the surrender verse, and the concluding message of the Gita.
Dharma in the Bhagavad Gita represents one's sacred duty, moral law, and righteous path. Krishna explains that dharma includes personal duties (svadharma), universal ethics, and cosmic order. Following one's dharma, even imperfectly, is superior to perfectly performing another's duty.
Karma in the Bhagavad Gita means action performed with mindful intention. Lord Krishna teaches that karma encompasses all physical, mental, and verbal actions, and their inevitable consequences. True karma yoga involves performing duties without attachment to results, dedicating all actions to the Divine.
Krishna's last words to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita are in verses 18.65-66. His final instruction is: "Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Surrender all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions; do not fear." This is considered the most confidential teaching (BG 18.64) and the ultimate conclusion of the Gita.
The Bhagavad Gita builds progressively through 18 chapters, with each chapter adding new dimensions to Krishna's teaching. The final words -- found in verses 18.63-66 -- represent the culmination of this entire discourse. They are the last instruction Krishna gives before asking Arjuna to make his choice, and they carry the weight of everything that preceded them.
Krishna himself signals the extraordinary importance of these final words. In verse 18.64, he says: "Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you My supreme instruction, the most confidential knowledge of all. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit." This personal preface indicates that what follows is not just another teaching but the ultimate essence of all wisdom.
Understanding why Krishna chose these particular words as his conclusion reveals the deepest intention of the Gita: not merely to inform but to transform, not to philosophize but to liberate.
This verse contains four specific practices: (1) manmana -- always think of Me, keep Me in your consciousness; (2) madbhakta -- become My devotee, orient your heart toward the Divine; (3) madyaji -- worship Me, dedicate your actions to the Divine; (4) mam namaskuru -- offer homage to Me, practice humility and reverence.
These four practices encompass the entire spiritual life: mental discipline (constant remembrance), emotional orientation (devotion), active engagement (worship through action), and ego transcendence (humility). Together, they form a complete daily practice that integrates thought, feeling, action, and being.
The promise "you will come to Me without fail" (mam evaishyasi) is unconditional. Krishna does not say "you might come" or "if conditions are right, you will come." The language is absolute: sincere practice of these four principles guarantees the ultimate result.
Translation: "Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."
This is the most quoted, most discussed, and most debated verse in the entire Bhagavad Gita. Known as the Charama Shloka (final verse) or Sarva-dharma-parityaga-shloka, it represents the absolute culmination of Krishna's teaching.
The phrase "sarva-dharman parityajya" (abandon all dharmas) has been interpreted in several ways by different commentators:
Shankaracharya's interpretation: Abandon the sense of doership in all religious and moral duties. Do not think "I am performing this dharma." Act from pure knowledge of the Self rather than ego-driven obligation.
Ramanujacharya's interpretation: Having explained all the various dharmas (paths of karma, jnana, bhakti), Krishna now says: do not worry about which path to follow or whether you can follow any of them perfectly. Simply surrender to Me, and I will take care of everything.
Madhvacharya's interpretation: Abandon the notion that dharma (righteous action) alone can save you. Recognize that liberation comes through divine grace, not merely through personal effort. Surrender is the acknowledgment that you ultimately depend on God's mercy.
"Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami" -- "I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions." This is Krishna's most personal and powerful promise. He takes full responsibility for the devotee's liberation. The use of "I shall" (mokshayishyami) is emphatic -- it is a divine guarantee, not a suggestion.
The final two words -- "ma shuchah" (do not grieve/do not fear) -- echo the very beginning of the Gita, where Krishna first addressed Arjuna's grief and fear. The Gita begins with sorrow (vishada) and ends with the complete dissolution of sorrow through surrender. The entire text is a journey from fear to fearlessness, from confusion to clarity, from bondage to freedom.
Arjuna's response in verse 18.73 shows the complete transformation that Krishna's words have achieved. The confused, despairing warrior who could not even hold his bow (BG 1.28-30) is now firm, clear, and ready to act. His illusion (moha) is destroyed, his memory (smriti) is restored, and his doubts (samshaya) are gone.
This transformation is the ultimate fruit of hearing the Gita. It is not an escape from the battlefield (the challenge of life) but the ability to face it with courage, clarity, and divine conviction. Arjuna does not become passive; he becomes powerfully and purposefully active, aligned with his duty through divine surrender.
After 17 chapters of progressively deeper teachings -- covering duty, action, knowledge, devotion, the nature of God, the cosmic form, the three gunas, and the field of consciousness -- Krishna distills everything into a single, supreme instruction: surrender.
This suggests that all the previous teachings are ultimately preparation for this moment of surrender. Knowledge helps you understand why surrender is wise. Devotion provides the emotional capacity for surrender. Selfless action develops the discipline for surrender. Meditation creates the inner stillness in which surrender becomes natural.
The placement of this teaching at the end also carries pedagogical significance. A student who has not studied the preceding chapters would not fully appreciate the depth and implications of surrender. It is only after understanding karma, dharma, the gunas, the atman, and the nature of God that "abandon all dharmas and surrender unto Me" becomes not a demand for blind faith but an invitation to the highest wisdom.
As Ramanujacharya beautifully wrote, this verse is like a mother holding her child: "Do not worry about anything. I will take care of everything." It is the ultimate expression of divine love and divine protection, offered to every sincere seeker regardless of their background, capabilities, or spiritual attainment.
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