Na hi prapashyami mamapanudyad yac chokam ucchhoshanam indriyanam avapya bhumav asapatnam riddham rajyam suranam api cadhipatyam
Arjuna says he cannot find anything to remove the grief that is drying up his senses, even if he were to obtain an unrivaled kingdom on earth or lordship over the gods. He acknowledges that material gains cannot cure the sorrow of his soul. This deepens the spiritual dimension of his crisis.
- •No material possession can cure the grief of the soul
- •Spiritual wisdom alone resolves the deepest suffering
- •Sense pleasures are inadequate medicine for existential sorrow
Traigunya-vishaya veda nistrai-gunyo bhavarjuna nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kshema atmavan
The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these three modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to them. Be free from all dualities, and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the self. The call is to transcend the gunas (modes of nature) and rest in pure awareness beyond all relative distinctions.
- •True spiritual practice transcends all modes of material nature
- •Freedom from duality and anxiety marks the established sage
- •The self-abiding state is beyond all worldly gains and fears
Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana, ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango 'stv akarmani
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
- •Focus on action, not outcomes
- •Detachment from results
- •Duty over desire
Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
- •Equanimity in success and failure
- •Balance is the essence of yoga
- •Detachment brings peace
Durena hy avaram karma buddhi-yogad dhananjaya buddhau sharanam anviccha kripanah phala-hetavah
O Dhananjaya, keep all abominable activities far distant by means of devotional service, and in that consciousness surrender to the Lord. Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers. Fruitive action is far inferior to the yoga of wisdom. Seeking refuge in equanimous intelligence, one should act without attachment to results.
- •Action with the desire for fruit is inferior to action done with wisdom
- •Seeking refuge in pure intelligence liberates one from miserly attachment
- •Wisdom-yoga transcends the bondage of reward-seeking action
Karma-jam buddhi-yukta hi phalam tyaktva manisinah janma-bandha-vinirmuktah padam gacchanty anamayam
By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries. Renouncing the fruits of karma through wisdom-yoga, the wise transcend the cycle of rebirth.
- •Renunciation of karmic fruits leads to liberation from rebirth
- •Action without attachment purifies the soul
- •The path of wisdom-karma leads to the state beyond all suffering
Yada te moha-kalilam buddhir vyatitarishyati tada gantasi nirvedam shrotavyasya shrutasya ca
When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard. As the mind becomes purified through yoga practice, one reaches a state of vairagya — dispassion toward all scripturally prescribed duties and worldly experiences. This marks the beginning of true liberation.
- •Spiritual progress involves passing through the forest of delusion
- •Indifference to both heard and unheard things marks purification of mind
- •True dispassion is a sign of advancing toward liberation
Duhkhesv anudvigna-manah sukhesu vigata-sprhah, vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah sthita-dhir munir ucyate
One who is not disturbed in spite of miseries, who doesn't crave happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
- •Equanimity in pleasure and pain
- •Freedom from reactive emotions
- •Mental stability through detachment
Yah sarvatranabhisnehas tat tat prapya shubhashubham nabhinandati na dveshti tasya prajna pratishthita
One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady mind. The truly wise person maintains perfect equanimity in all conditions — neither clinging to the pleasant nor recoiling from the unpleasant.
- •Equanimity in pleasure and pain marks steady wisdom
- •Freedom from attachment to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant is liberation
- •The wise maintain inner stability regardless of external circumstances
Raga-dvesha-vimuktais tu vishayan indriyaish caran atma-vashyair vidheyatma prasadam adhigacchati
But a person free from all attachment and aversion, able to control the senses through regulative principles of freedom, can obtain the full mercy of the Lord. One who engages with sense objects with controlled senses, free from attraction and repulsion, attains prasada — divine grace and serenity of mind.
- •Freedom from attachment and aversion purifies the interaction with the world
- •Regulated engagement with the senses leads to inner serenity
- •Divine grace follows from disciplined, equanimous living
Vihaya kaman yah sarvan pumams carati nihsprhah, nirmamo nirahankarah sa shantim adhigacchati
That person who gives up all material desires and lives free from a sense of possessiveness, proprietorship, and egotism, attains perfect peace.
- •Renounce attachment to desires
- •Let go of ego and ownership
- •True peace comes from detachment
Yas tv indriyani manasa niyamyarabhate 'rjuna, karmendriyaih karma-yogam asaktah sa vishishyate
But one who controls the senses with the mind and engages in karma yoga through the organs of action, without attachment — that person is far superior. Genuine karma yoga unites mental control with engaged, detached action.
- •Mental control combined with active engagement is superior
- •Detachment in action distinguishes true karma yoga
- •Inner and outer discipline must work together
Naiva tasya krtenartho nakrteneha kashcana, na casya sarva-bhuteshu kashcid artha-vyapashrayah
For one who is self-realized, there is nothing to be gained by performing duty, nor anything lost by not performing it. Such a person has no need to depend on any being for anything.
- •The self-realized person acts from fullness, not need
- •Duty for the enlightened is free from personal gain or loss
- •True freedom is independence from outcomes
Tasmad asaktah satatam karyam karma samachara, asakto hy acharan karma param apnoti purushah
Therefore, without attachment, constantly perform action which is duty, for by performing action without attachment, one attains the Supreme.
- •Consistent detached action leads to liberation
- •Never abandon duty
- •Supreme goal through selfless service
Saktah karmany avidvamso yatha kurvanti bharata, kuryad vidvams tathasaktas cikirsur loka-sangraham
As the ignorant act with attachment to results, so the wise should act without attachment, O Bharata, desiring the welfare of the world. The wise set an example even though they need nothing for themselves.
- •The wise serve as models for right action
- •Act for the world's welfare, not personal gain
- •Detached action in imitation of the wise purifies society
Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvashah, ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate
The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.
- •Ego creates the illusion of doership
- •Actions are performed by nature's forces
- •Understanding true agency brings freedom
Mayi sarvani karmani sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa, nirashir nirmamo bhutva yudhyasva vigata-jvarah
Therefore, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on the self, free from desire and possessiveness, and cured of mental fever, fight.
- •Surrender all actions to the divine
- •Act without personal agenda
- •Freedom from mental anxiety
Tyaktva karma-phalasangam nitya-tripto nirasrayah, karmany abhipravrittoapi naiva kimcit karoti sah
Having abandoned all attachment to the fruits of action, always content and without any dependence, such a person, even while engaged in action, does not do anything at all.
- •Contentment (nitya-tripta) transforms all action into non-action
- •Inner independence and detachment from results equals true freedom
- •Activity with no ego-claim is equivalent to non-activity in terms of karma
Gata-sangasya muktasya jnanavasthita-cetasah, yajnayacaratah karma samagram praviliyate
All the karmic reactions of a person who is without attachment, who is liberated, whose mind is established in knowledge, and who performs action as sacrifice — entirely dissolve.
- •Action performed as yajna (sacrifice) creates no new karma
- •Liberation is possible while living and acting fully
- •The combination of detachment, knowledge, and sacrifice dissolves karma
Brahmany adhaya karmani sangam tyaktva karoti yah, lipyate na sa papena padma-patram ivambhasa
One who performs their duty without attachment, surrendering the results to the Supreme, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
- •Detached action purifies the soul
- •Like a lotus in water, be in the world but not of it
- •Surrender leads to freedom
Kayena manasa buddhya kevalair indriyair api, yoginah karma kurvanti sangam tyaktvatma-shuddhaye
Yogis perform action with body, mind, intellect, and even the senses alone — all without attachment — for the purification of the self. This verse defines the spirit of karma yoga: using every faculty as a tool for self-purification rather than ego-gratification.
- •All faculties become instruments of purification in yoga
- •Abandoning attachment is the defining quality of yogic action
- •The purpose of action is inner purification, not external gain
Yuktah karma-phalam tyaktva shantim apnoti naishthikim, ayuktah kama-karena phale sakto nibadhyate
The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace by renouncing the fruits of action, whereas the unsteady soul is bound by desire for rewards.
- •Peace comes from renouncing outcomes
- •Attachment to results creates bondage
- •Steady practice leads to liberation
Bahya-sparseshv asaktatma vindaty atmani yat sukham, sa brahma-yoga-yuktatma sukham akshayam ashnute
Those who are not attached to external sense pleasures realize divine bliss in the self. Being united with God through meditation, they experience unending happiness.
- •Inner joy transcends external pleasures
- •Divine connection brings lasting happiness
- •Detachment from senses leads to bliss
Asanshayam maha-baho mano durnigraham calam, abhyasena tu kaunteya vairagyena ca grhyate
The mind is restless and difficult to restrain, but it is subdued by practice and detachment.
- •The mind requires consistent practice
- •Patience and persistence are key
- •Detachment aids mental control
Na ca mam tani karmani nibadhnanti dhananjaya, udasina-vad asinam asaktam teshu karmasu
These acts of creation do not bind Me, O Dhananjaya. I remain like one sitting apart, unattached to these actions. The Lord acts through His nature but is never affected by karma, illustrating the perfect freedom that comes from desireless, ego-free action.
- •God acts without attachment and is never bound by karma
- •True freedom comes from action without personal investment
- •The Lord's detachment is the ultimate model for spiritual action
Asaktir anabhishvangah putra-dara-grihadishu, nityam cha sama-cittatvam ishta-anishta-upapatishu
Non-attachment, freedom from over-identification with children, wife, home, and the rest; constant equanimity in both pleasant and unpleasant events — these are qualities of one abiding in knowledge. Detachment is not indifference but a liberated engagement with life.
- •True knowledge produces detachment from outcomes
- •Equanimity in all circumstances is a mark of wisdom
- •Over-identification with relationships causes suffering
Udasina-vad asino gunaির na vicalyate, guna vartanta ity evam yo 'vatishthati nengate
Those who remain neutral like a witness, unshaken by the gunas, knowing that the gunas alone are active, remain steadfast and do not waver.
- •Be a witness to the play of gunas
- •Non-identification with qualities
- •Steadiness through detached observation
Na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na chādir na cha sampratiṣhṭhā, aśhvattham enaṁ su-virūḍha-mūlam asaṅga-śhastreṇa dṛiḍhena chhittvā
The real form of this tree cannot be perceived in this world, nor its beginning, end, or existence. Cut down this firmly rooted tree with the weapon of detachment.
- •Material world is illusory
- •Detachment is the weapon for freedom
- •Must sever attachment to maya
etany api tu karmani sangam tyaktva phalani ca kartavyaniti me partha niscitam matam uttamam
Krishna declares with certainty that acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity must be performed, but with detachment from attachment and from their fruits. This is his definitive and highest opinion on the matter of duty and renunciation.
- •Sacred duties must be performed — renouncing them is not the highest path
- •Action combined with detachment from results is the supreme teaching
- •Krishna's clear verdict resolves the debate between action and renunciation
na dvesty akusalam karma kusale nanusajjate tyagi sattva-samavisto medhavi chinna-samsayah
The sattvic renunciant, filled with goodness and free from doubt, neither hates disagreeable action nor clings to agreeable action. Such a wise person has cut through all doubts and acts with equanimity in all situations.
- •True tyaga brings equanimity — neither aversion nor attachment to any action
- •The wise renunciant is free from doubt and not swayed by likes or dislikes
- •Sattva-filled intelligence enables unbiased, undisturbed engagement with duty
Asakta-buddhih sarvatra jitatma vigata-sprihah, naishkarmya-siddhim paramam sannyasenadhigacchati
Those whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who have mastered the self and are free from desires, attain through renunciation the supreme state of freedom from action.
- •Complete detachment from outcomes
- •Self-mastery and desirelessness
- •Ultimate freedom through renunciation