Vishnu Devotion & Surrender Bhagavad Gita Verse
Bhagavad Gita 18.66: the verse many call the last teaching of the Gita, on taking refuge in Krishna alone. Sanskrit text and simple meaning.
Sanskrit
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ।
अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja |
ahaṃ tvāṃ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ ||
Meaning
Give up all other dharmas and come to Me alone for refuge. I will free you from all wrongs. Do not grieve.
This is Krishna’s teaching on surrender in the Gita. It is not a promise of any particular result to a reader.
Source / Textual Reference
Bhagavad Gita 18.66 (Chapter 18, verse 66)
The Bhagavad Gita is part of the Mahabharata. It records a talk between Krishna and the warrior Arjuna on the field of Kurukshetra, just before a great battle. Krishna is the speaker.
Traditional Significance
Near the end of the Gita, Krishna sums up his teaching as taking refuge in him. In the Vaishnava tradition this verse is called the “carama śloka”, the last verse, and is treated as the heart of the Gita.
Teachers explain the first line in different ways. Some read it as giving up worry about the outcome of one’s duties; others read it as giving up all other means in favour of complete surrender to God. We give the plain words and leave the reading to the reader and the teacher.
Traditional Practice
The verse is read, studied and often quoted in talks on surrender (śaraṇāgati). There is no fixed time or number of repetitions.