Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 Verse 24 भगवद् गीता अध्याय 16 श्लोक 24 तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ। ज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुमिहार्हसि।।16.24।। English Translation - Swami Gambirananda 16.24 Therefore, the scripture is your authority as regards the determination of what is to be done and what is not to be done. After understanding (your) duty as presented by scriptural injunction, you ought to perform (your duty) here. English Translation - Swami Sivananda 16.24 Therefore, let the scripture be thy authority in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures, thou shouldst act here in this world. English Translation - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan 16.24. Therefore, by considering the scripture as your authority in determining as to what is to be done and what is not to be done, you should perform action, laid down by the regulations of the scriptures. English Commentary - Swami Sivananda 16.24 तस्मात् therefore? शास्त्रम् scripture? प्रमाणम् (be) authority? ते they? कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done? ज्ञात्वा having known? शास्त्रविधानोक्तम् what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures? कर्म action? कर्तुम् to do? इह here (in this world)? अर्हसि shouldst.Commentary He who desires the welfare of the Self should not disregard the ?nds of the scriptures. A man who is anxious to obtain eternal bliss should respect the Vedas and the Smritis which lay down the code of right conduct. He should readily renounce whatever the scriptures teach him to abandon and accept whatever he is directed to accept.He who is thus entirely devoted to the Vedas cannot meet with misfortune? grief or delusion. No mother is more kind than the scriptures for they restrain us from doing evil and bestow on us the greatest good (liberation or Moksha). Therefore treat the scriptures with great respect. Renounce all that the scriptures prohibit. Whatever is worthy of being done? that thou shouldst do thoroughly with all thy heart and all thy strength.Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the sixteenth discourse entitledThe Yoga of the Division BetweenThe Divine and the Demoniacal. , English Translation of Sanskrit Commentary By Sri Shankaracharya's 16.24 Tasmat, therefore; sastram, the scripure; is te, your; pramanam, authority, the means of knowledge; karya-akarya-vyavasthitau, as regards the determination of what is to be done and what is not to be done. Therefore, jnatva, after understanding; that which is your own karma, duty; sastra-vidhana-uktam, as presented by scriptural injunction-vidhana is the same as vidhi, precept, in the form, you should do, you should not do; as presented by that; arhasi, you ought; kartum, to perform; it iha, here. Here is used for pointing out the sphere in which one is intitled to perform his duties. F:gitadataR.K.GitaCHAPTER16.doc Page 1 of 1 English Translation of Commentary - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan 16.23-24 Yah sastravidhim etc. Tasmat etc. On the other hand, a fall into the hell is [inevitable] for a person who rejects the scriptural injunctions and makes, using his own intellect, an analysis as to what is to be done and what is not to be done. Therefore, dont make a decision with your intellect about what is to be done and what is not to be done.-This is what is intended to be conveyed here. English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary 16.24 Hence, the Sastra is to be the only authority for you in determining what should be done and what should not be done, viz., in deciding what ought to be accepted and what ought not be accepted. You should know, i.e., understand, neither more nor less than what constitutes the truth and the work enjoined in the injunctions of the Sastras which the Highest Reality called the Supreme Person revealed in the Vedas. The Vedic injunctions are supplemented by the Dharma-sastras, the Itihasas and the Puranas. The acts enjoined by them are the means for reaching Him and for pleasing Him. You should perform them; you should accept them alone. Commentary - Chakravarthi Ji This chapter has described how those who follow the scripture attain the supreme goal and those who do not follow scripture go to hell. Rudra Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary The irrevocable conclusion given by the Supreme Lord Krishna is that the Vedic scriptures are the sole, absolute authority in ascertaining the applicability of all activities. What is prescribed in the Vedic scriptures is the determining agent for what is righteous and what is unrighteous, what is to be done and what is not to be done, what is right and what is wrong. The whole pantheon of the Vedic scriptures including the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas, the Puranas including Srimad Bhagavatam, the Upanisads, Vedanta Sutra, Mahabharata, Ramayana and all their auxiliaries such as Manu Samhita, Narada Pancaratna, Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Tattva Sandarbhas, Hari Bhakti Vilas etc. and such scriptures authorised by bonafide disciplic succession in one of the four authorised sampradayas which are Brahma, Sri, Rudra and Kumara are also to be considered as part of the Vedic scriptures. The Vedic line is living and eternal. Thus having understood the eternal directives prescribed in the Vedic scriptures one should engage in them to the best of ones ability in full faith without duplicity for the achievement of ones best interests according to ones inherent nature and qualification. Purification of the mind, perfection in spiritual knowledge and moksa or liberation from material existence all manifest by securing that. By comparing and differentiating between the divine nature and the demoniac nature, sufficient evidence has proven conclusively that the demoniac nature is only qualified for damnation in lower and lower species in hellish existences and that only the divine nature is qualified and eligible for higher consciousness, the ultimate truth and eternal communion with the Supreme Lord. Brahma Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Hari Om! The distinctive differences between the divine nature and the demoniac nature have been delineated in detail. Those deluded fools who imagine themselves as exercising the power of the Supreme Lord; who foolishly consider that creation manifested without a supreme consciousness, who deviously speculate and hypothecate that creation manifested on its own and so there is no Supreme Lord, who despite knowledge of the actual reality of the Supreme Lords omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence; still spitefully oppose Him and vindictively seek to undermine and destroy His creation. All these degraded jivas or embodied beings, verily are born of the demoniac nature and will descend into hellish existences in worlds of darkness. These unrepentant demoniac jivas in wharever form they appear in, thinking of themselves as superior never surrender to the Supreme Lord or offer reverence to Him. Instead they blaspheme the Supreme Lord, ridicule His absolute instructions in the form of the Vedic scriptures and deride His devotees. Those who propagate that the Supreme Lord does not exist and is just an illusion are of the demoniac nature. Those who challenge the divine instructions of the Supreme Lord Krishna, those who contradict the eternal truths of the Vedic scriptures and those who dispute the eternal knowledge taught by the devotees of Lord Krishna are all also irrefutably possessed of the demoniac nature. The birth of a jiva as a demigod, a demon or a human being is due to an inherent resonance towards beings such based upon previous activities in past lives. Because by possessing the attributes of any of them there is a natural affinity leading back towards them from from whence they came and hence there never can be any artificial change in disposition. Although it is possible for one to be born in the family of a demoniac line due to a curse like Prince Prahlad taking birth as the son of the demon king Hiranyakasipu; but this is not true demoniac nature manifesting and Prahlad heard the glories of the Supreme Lord from Narada Muni while in his mothers womb and right from early childhood exhibited his divine nature to the great chagrin and disappointment of his father. Like a crystal which appears dark when seen in the darkness those of the divine nature may appear to be demoniac because of circumstances. But it is only temporary and not even permanently present in a single life because such situations cannot alter the inherent divine attributes. Therefore those of the divine nature quickly revive it within that selfsame life even if born in inauspicious situations. Thus wherever and under whatever conditions those of the divine nature take birth there inherent divine attributes quickly fructify and activate them to quickly become eligible for association with a Vaisnava spiritual master who bestows devotion to the Supreme Lord Krishna and become qualified for communion with Him. That eligibility comes quickly is evidenced that Prahlads inherent divine attributes were so potent that He did not even have to wait until he was born but received instructions while in the womb. There are many blissful levels of communion with the Supreme Lord that those of the divine nature may partake of as there are various gradations within moksa or liberation from material existence. Thus devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna are incapable of not being grateful and joyous. Shri Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Sastra meaning the Vedic scriptures is the sole absolute supreme authority deciding all matters of existence guiding all creation as to what is to be done and what is not to be done. What the ordinances and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures enjoin along with their auxiliaries such as the Puranas, Upanisads, Itihasas, etc reveals that the highest truth is the Supreme Lord Krishna, that all activities should be engaged in as devotion and propitiation to Him and that this in itself constitutes the means of attaining Him. Realising these ultimate truths to be absolute reality, nothing more is required and one should sagaciously act with full faith in accordance therewith. Kumara Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Sastra meaning the Vedic scriptures is the sole absolute supreme authority deciding all matters of existence guiding all creation as to what is to be done and what is not to be done. What the ordinances and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures enjoin along with their auxiliaries such as the Puranas, Upanisads, Itihasas, etc reveals that the highest truth is the Supreme Lord Krishna, that all activities should be engaged in as devotion and propitiation to Him and that this in itself constitutes the means of attaining Him. Realising these ultimate truths to be absolute reality, nothing more is required and one should sagaciously act with full faith in accordance therewith. Transliteration Bhagavad Gita 16.24Tasmaat shaastram pramaanam te kaaryaakaaryavyavasthitau; Jnaatwaa shaastravidhaanoktam karma kartumihaarhasi. Word Meanings Bhagavad Gita 16.24tasmāt—therefore; śhāstram—scriptures; pramāṇam—authority; te—your; kārya—duty; akārya—forbidden action; vyavasthitau—in determining; jñātvā—having understood; śhāstra—scriptures; vidhāna—injunctions; uktam—as revealed; karma—actions; kartum—perform; iha—in this world; arhasi—you should