Chapter IV · Śloka 37
यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन |
ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ||
ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ||
yathaidhāṃsi samiddho 'gnir bhasmasāt kurute 'rjuna |
jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute tathā ||
jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute tathā ||
Just as a blazing fire reduces firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so the fire of knowledge reduces all karma to ashes.
The simile is exact: fire does not partially burn; it transforms completely. Likewise, true knowledge does not merely reduce karma — it incincerates its very capacity to bind. What is burnt cannot sprout again.