Your work is yours, the fruit is not

Where we are

In the previous reading Krishna warned against flowery talk that turns sacred practice into a bargain for heaven and power. Now he asks Arjuna to rise above that bargaining world, then gives the Gita's most famous line: you have a right to your action, never to its fruits. He ends by defining yoga as evenness in success and failure.

The verses

1. 2.45

   The Vedas deal with the world of nature's three strands, the guṇas. Rise above them, Arjuna: free of the pull of opposites, rooted in clarity, not fretting over getting and keeping, and centred in yourself.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.45

   त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन ।
   निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् ॥ ४५ ॥

   Hear it

   traiguṇyaviṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna
   nirdvaṃdvo nityasattvastho niryogakṣema ātmavān

   Say it

   trai-goon-yuh-vi-shuh-yaa vay-daa nis-trai-goon-yo bhuh-vaar-joo-nuh
   nir-dvun-dvo nit-yuh-sut-tvuh-stho nir-yo-guh-kshay-muh aat-muh-vaan

   Word by word

   traiguṇya-viṣayāḥ vedāḥ

   the Vedas deal with the realm of the three guṇas

   nistraiguṇyaḥ bhava

   be beyond the three guṇas

   arjuna

   Arjuna

   nirdvandvaḥ

   free of the pairs of opposites

   nitya-sattva-sthaḥ

   always rooted in clarity (sattva)

   niryoga-kṣemaḥ

   not anxious about getting and keeping

   ātmavān

   grounded in the self

2. 2.46

   When water floods in on every side, a small well adds little. In the same way, for someone who truly knows the Absolute, the Vedas' reward-seeking rites add little more.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.46

   यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके ।
   तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः ॥ ४६ ॥

   Hear it

   yāvān artha udapāne sarvataḥ saṃplutodake
   tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

   Say it

   yaa-vaan ur-thuh oo-duh-paa-nay sur-vuh-tuh-hu sum-ploo-to-duh-kay
   taa-vaan sur-vay-shoo vay-day-shoo braah-muh-nus-yuh vi-jaa-nuh-tuh-hu

   Word by word

   yāvān arthaḥ

   as much use as there is

   udapāne

   in a small well or water tank

   sarvataḥ saṃpluta-udake

   when water is flooding everywhere

   tāvān

   that much (and no more)

   sarveṣu vedeṣu

   in all the Vedas

   brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

   for one who truly knows the Absolute (Brahman)

3. 2.47

   Your right is to the work itself, never to what it yields. Don't make the result your reason for acting, and don't let that turn into wanting to do nothing.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.47

   कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
   मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ ४७ ॥

   Hear it

   karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadā cana
   mā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi

   Say it

   kur-mun-yay-vaa-dhi-kaa-rus-tay maa phuh-lay-shoo kuh-daa chuh-nuh
   maa kur-muh-phuh-luh-hay-toor bhoor maa tay sun-go-stvuh-kur-muh-ni

   Word by word

   karmaṇi eva adhikāraḥ te

   your right is to the action alone

   mā phaleṣu kadācana

   never to its fruits

   mā karma-phala-hetuḥ bhūḥ

   do not let the fruit be your motive

   mā te saṅgaḥ astu

   nor let there be in you any attachment

   akarmaṇi

   to not acting

4. 2.48

   Settled in yoga, Dhanañjaya, do what you have to do and let go of clinging. Stay the same in success and failure. That evenness of mind is called yoga.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.48

   योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।
   सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥ ४८ ॥

   Hear it

   yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā dhanaṃjaya
   siddhyasiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate

   Say it

   yo-guh-stuh-hu koo-roo kur-maa-ni sun-gum tyuk-tvaa dhuh-nun-juh-yuh
   sid-dhyuh-sid-dhyo-hu suh-mo bhoo-tvaa suh-mut-vum yo-guhooch-yuh-tay

   Word by word

   yoga-sthaḥ

   steady in yoga

   kuru karmāṇi

   do your actions

   saṅgam tyaktvā

   letting go of attachment

   dhanaṃjaya

   winner of wealth (Arjuna)

   siddhi-asiddhyoḥ samaḥ bhūtvā

   being the same in success and failure

   samatvam yogaḥ ucyate

   evenness is called yoga

Context and commentary

Verse 2.47 is often misread as "don't care about results". It has four parts: your claim is on the action; never on the fruit; don't let the fruit drive you; and don't use this as an excuse to stop acting. That last part answers Arjuna's wish to walk away. The three guṇas (2.45) are nature's strands of clarity, restlessness and inertia; yoga-kṣema means getting and keeping. Interpretation: Śaṅkara reads 2.46 as the knower needing nothing from ritual; Rāmānuja as taking from the Vedas only what serves liberation. Gandhi saw 2.47–48 as the heart of selfless action.