Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 The Yoga of Selfless Action

Shloka 1 Arjuna's Confusion: Is Knowledge Superior to Action? arjuna uvācha | jyāyasī chet karmaṇas te matā buddhir janārdana | tat kiṁ karmaṇi ghore māṁ niyojayasi keśhava || 3.1 || Arjuna said: O Janardana, if You consider knowledge to be superior to action, then why do You urge me to engage in this terrible war, O Keshava? → Shloka 2 Seeking One Clear Path to the Highest Good vyāmiśhreṇeva vākyena buddhiṁ mohayasīva me | tad ekaṁ vada niśhchitya yena śhreyo ’ham āpnuyām || 3.2 || By Your seemingly ambiguous instructions, You are bewildering my intellect. Please tell me decisively the one path by which I may attain the highest good. → Shloka 3 Two Paths of Faith: Knowledge and Action śhrī bhagavān uvācha | loke ’smin dvi-vidhā niṣhṭhā purā proktā mayānagha | jñāna-yogena sāṅkhyānāṁ karma-yogena yoginām || 3.3 || The Supreme Lord said: O sinless one, in this world there are two paths of faith, as I explained earlier: the path of knowledge for those inclined toward contemplation, and the path of action for those inclined toward work. → Shloka 4 Neither Inaction Nor Mere Renunciation Brings Perfection na karmaṇām anārambhān naiṣhkarmyaṁ puruṣho ’śhnute | na cha sannyasanād eva siddhiṁ samadhigachchhati || 3.4 || One does not attain freedom from the bondage of actions merely by abstaining from work, nor does one attain perfection merely by outward renunciation. → Shloka 5 No One Can Remain Without Action Even for a Moment na hi kaśhchit kṣhaṇam api jātu tiṣhṭhaty akarma-kṛit | kāryate hy avaśhaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛiti-jair guṇaiḥ || 3.5 || No one can remain without action even for a moment. Indeed, everyone is compelled to act helplessly by the qualities born of material nature. → Shloka 6 The Hypocrite: Controlling the Body but Not the Mind karmendriyāṇi saṁyamya ya āste manasā smaran | indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā mithyāchāraḥ sa uchyate || 3.6 || Those who restrain the organs of action but continue to dwell on sense objects in the mind are deluded and are called hypocrites. → Shloka 7 Superior Is the One Who Controls the Senses and Acts Without Attachment yas tv indriyāṇi manasā niyamyārabhate ’rjuna | karmendriyaiḥ karma-yogam asaktaḥ sa viśhiṣhyate || 3.7 || But those who control the senses with the mind, O Arjuna, and engage the organs of action in Karma Yoga without attachment, are superior. → Shloka 8 Perform Your Duty: Action Is Better Than Inaction niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥ | śharīra-yātrāpi cha te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ || 3.8 || Perform your prescribed duty, for action is indeed superior to inaction. Even the maintenance of your body would not be possible without action. → Shloka 9 Work as Sacrifice: Free from Bondage yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ | tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samāchara || 3.9 || Actions other than those performed as a sacrifice cause bondage in this world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your duty for that purpose, free from attachment. → Shloka 10 The Creator's Instruction: Prosper Through Sacrifice saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛiṣhṭvā purovācha prajāpatiḥ | anena prasaviṣhyadhvam eṣha vo ’stv iṣhṭa-kāma-dhuk || 3.10 || In the beginning, the Creator, having created living beings together with sacrifices, said: 'By this, may you prosper. Let this be the bestower of the things you desire.' → Shloka 11 Mutual Nourishment: Humans and the Gods Prosper Together devān bhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ | parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ śhreyaḥ param avāpsyatha || 3.11 || With this sacrifice, nourish the gods, and may those gods nourish you. Thus, nourishing one another, you will attain the highest good. → Shloka 12 One Who Enjoys Without Giving Back Is a Thief iṣhṭān bhogān hi vo devā dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ | tair dattān apradāyaibhyo yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ || 3.12 || The gods, nourished by sacrifice, will indeed bestow upon you the enjoyments you desire. One who enjoys what has been given by them without offering anything in return is certainly a thief. → Shloka 13 Food Offered First: Freedom from Sin yajña-śhiṣhṭāśhinaḥ santo muchyante sarva-kilbiṣhaiḥ | bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā ye pachanty ātma-kāraṇāt || 3.13 || The spiritually minded, who eat food that has first been offered in sacrifice, are freed from all sins. But those sinful ones who cook food only for their own enjoyment eat only sin. → Shloka 14 The Cycle of Life: Food, Rain, Sacrifice and Action annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ | yajñād bhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ || 3.14 || Living beings are sustained by food, and food is produced by rain. Rain comes from sacrifice, and sacrifice is born of prescribed action. → Shloka 15 Action, Scripture and the All-Pervading Divine Rooted in Sacrifice karma brahmodbhavaṁ viddhi brahmākṣhara-samudbhavam | tasmāt sarva-gataṁ brahma nityaṁ yajñe pratiṣhṭhitam || 3.15 || Know that action arises from the Vedas, and the Vedas are manifested from the Imperishable (God). Therefore, the all-pervading Brahman is eternally established in sacrifice. → Shloka 16 Living in Vain: One Who Does Not Follow the Cycle of Sacrifice evaṁ pravartitaṁ chakraṁ nānuvartayatīha yaḥ | aghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṁ pārtha sa jīvati || 3.16 || One who does not follow the cycle of sacrifice thus set in motion in this world, O Parth, lives sinfully, delighting in the senses, and lives in vain. → Shloka 17 The Self-Satisfied Soul Has No Obligatory Duty yas tv ātma-ratir eva syād ātma-tṛiptaśh cha mānavaḥ | ātmanyeva cha santuṣhṭas tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate || 3.17 || But those human beings who take delight in the Self, who are satisfied in the Self, and who are fully content in the Self alone, for them there is no duty to perform. → Shloka 18 The Realized Soul Gains Nothing by Action or Inaction naiva tasya kṛitenārtho nākṛiteneha kaśhchana | na chāsya sarva-bhūteṣhu kaśhchid artha-vyapāśhrayaḥ || 3.18 || Such a person has nothing to gain by action and nothing to lose by inaction in this world. Nor does such a person depend on any being for any personal purpose. → Shloka 19 Perform Duty Without Attachment to Reach the Supreme tasmād asaktaḥ satataṁ kāryaṁ karma samāchara | asakto hyācharan karma param āpnoti pūruṣhaḥ || 3.19 || Therefore, always perform your duty well, without attachment. By performing action without attachment, a person attains the Supreme. → Shloka 20 Lead by Example: Act for the Welfare of the World karmaṇaiva hi saṁsiddhim āsthitā janakādayaḥ | loka-saṅgraham evāpi sampaśhyan kartum arhasi || 3.20 || Indeed, Janaka and others attained perfection through action alone. Even considering the welfare of the world, you should act. → Shloka 21 Whatever the Great Do, Others Follow yad yad ācharati śhreṣhṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ | sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate || 3.21 || Whatever a great person does, ordinary people follow. Whatever standard such a person sets, the world follows. → Shloka 22 Even the Lord Has No Duty Yet Continues to Act na me pārthāsti kartavyaṁ triṣhu lokeṣhu kiñchana | nānavāptam avāptavyaṁ varta eva cha karmaṇi || 3.22 || O Parth, there is no duty for Me to perform in all the three worlds, nor is there anything unobtained that I need to obtain. Yet I engage in action. → Shloka 23 If the Lord Did Not Act, All People Would Follow yadi hyahaṁ na varteyaṁ jātu karmaṇyatandritaḥ | mama vartmānuvartante manuṣhyāḥ pārtha sarvaśhaḥ || 3.23 || If I did not ever engage in action vigilantly, O Parth, human beings would follow My path in every way. → Shloka 24 Without Action, the Worlds Would Perish utsīdeyur ime lokā na kuryāṁ karma ched aham | saṅkarasya cha kartā syām upahanyām imāḥ prajāḥ || 3.24 || If I did not perform action, these worlds would perish. I would be the cause of confusion in society, and I would destroy these beings. → Shloka 25 The Wise Act Like the Ignorant, but Without Attachment saktāḥ karmaṇyavidvāṁso yathā kurvanti bhārata | kuryād vidvāṁs tathāsaktaśh chikīrṣhur loka-saṅgraham || 3.25 || As the ignorant act with attachment to action, O descendant of Bharata, so should the wise act without attachment, desiring the welfare of the world. → Shloka 26 Do Not Unsettle the Minds of the Attached; Inspire Them by Example na buddhi-bhedaṁ janayed ajñānāṁ karma-saṅginām | joṣhayet sarva-karmāṇi vidvān yuktaḥ samācharan || 3.26 || The wise should not create confusion in the minds of the ignorant who are attached to action. Rather, being established in the right spirit and performing all actions well, they should inspire others to do the same. → Shloka 27 The Deluded Ego Thinks 'I Am the Doer' prakṛiteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśhaḥ | ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate || 3.27 || All actions are performed by the modes of material nature. But the one whose mind is deluded by ego thinks, 'I am the doer.' → Shloka 28 The Knower of Truth Is Not Entangled tattva-vit tu mahā-bāho guṇa-karma-vibhāgayoḥ | guṇā guṇeṣhu vartanta iti matvā na sajjate || 3.28 || But the knower of the truth, O mighty-armed, who understands the distinction between the modes and their actions, does not become attached, understanding that the modes move among the modes. → Shloka 29 The Deluded Are Attached; the Wise Should Not Unsettle Them prakṛiter guṇa-sammūḍhāḥ sajjante guṇa-karmasu | tān akṛitsna-vido mandān kṛitsna-vin na vichālayet || 3.29 || Those who are deluded by the modes of nature become attached to the actions of the modes. One who has complete knowledge should not unsettle those of imperfect knowledge and dull understanding. → Shloka 30 Offer All Actions to the Divine and Fight Without Anxiety mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasyādhyātma-chetasā | nirāśhīr nirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ || 3.30 || Dedicating all your actions to Me, with your mind fixed on the Self, free from expectation and the sense of ownership, and free from mental fever, fight. → Shloka 31 Faith in the Teaching Frees One from Bondage ye me matam idaṁ nityam anutiṣhṭhanti mānavāḥ | śhraddhāvanto ’nasūyanto muchyante te ’pi karmabhiḥ || 3.31 || Those human beings who constantly follow this teaching of Mine with faith and without fault-finding are also freed from the bondage of actions. → Shloka 32 Those Who Reject the Teaching Are Ruined ye tv etad abhyasūyanto nānutiṣhṭhanti me matam | sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhāṁs tān viddhi naṣhṭān achetasaḥ || 3.32 || But those who find fault with this teaching of Mine and do not follow it, know them to be deluded in all knowledge, devoid of discrimination, and ruined. → Shloka 33 Even the Wise Act According to Their Nature: What Can Suppression Achieve? sadṛiśhaṁ cheṣhṭate svasyāḥ prakṛiter jñānavān api | prakṛitiṁ yānti bhūtāni nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣhyati || 3.33 || Even a wise person acts in accordance with their own nature. All beings follow their nature. What will suppression accomplish? → Shloka 34 Do Not Fall Under the Sway of Attachment and Aversion indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣhau vyavasthitau | tayor na vaśham āgachchhet tau hyasya paripanthinau || 3.34 || Attachment and aversion are seated in the objects of each sense. One should not come under the control of these two, for they are indeed one's enemies on the path. → Shloka 35 Better Is One's Own Duty, Even If Imperfect śhreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣhṭhitāt | sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śhreyaḥ para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ || 3.35 || It is better to perform one's own duty imperfectly than to perform another's duty well. Even death in one's own duty is better, for another's duty is fraught with danger. → Shloka 36 Arjuna's Question: What Impels a Person to Sin Against Their Will? arjuna uvācha | atha kena prayukto ’yaṁ pāpaṁ charati pūruṣhaḥ | anichchhann api vārṣhṇeya balād iva niyojitaḥ || 3.36 || Arjuna said: By what is a person impelled to commit sin, even unwillingly, O descendant of Vrishni, as if engaged by force? → Shloka 37 Desire and Anger: The All-Devouring Enemy śhrī bhagavān uvācha | kāma eṣha krodha eṣha rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ | mahāśhano mahā-pāpmā viddhyenam iha vairiṇam || 3.37 || The Supreme Lord said: It is desire, it is anger, born of the mode of passion, all-devouring and greatly sinful. Know this to be the enemy in this world. → Shloka 38 Knowledge Is Covered by Desire, as Fire by Smoke dhūmenāvriyate vahnir yathādarśho malena cha | yatholbenāvṛito garbhas tathā tenedam āvṛitam || 3.38 || As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, and as an embryo is covered by the womb, so is this knowledge covered by that desire. → Shloka 39 Desire: The Insatiable Eternal Enemy of the Wise āvṛitaṁ jñānam etena jñānino nitya-vairiṇā | kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣhpūreṇānalena cha || 3.39 || The knowledge of the wise is covered by this eternal enemy in the form of desire, O son of Kunti, which is insatiable like fire. → Shloka 40 The Senses, Mind and Intellect: The Seat of Desire indriyāṇi mano buddhir asyādhiṣhṭhānam uchyate | etair vimohayaty eṣha jñānam āvṛitya dehinam || 3.40 || The senses, mind, and intellect are said to be the seat of desire. Through these, it deludes the embodied soul by covering its knowledge. → Shloka 41 First Control the Senses, Then Slay the Destroyer of Knowledge tasmāt tvam indriyāṇyādau niyamya bharatarṣhabha | pāpmānaṁ prajahi hyenaṁ jñāna-vijñāna-nāśhanam || 3.41 || Therefore, O best of the Bharatas, first control the senses, and then slay this sinful destroyer of knowledge and realization. → Shloka 42 The Senses, Mind, Intellect and the Soul: A Hierarchy of Subtlety indriyāṇi parāṇyāhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ | manasastu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratastu saḥ || 3.42 || The senses are said to be superior to the gross body. The mind is superior to the senses, the intellect is superior to the mind, and the soul is superior even to the intellect. → Shloka 43 Know the Self Beyond the Intellect and Slay the Enemy Called Desire evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā saṁstabhyātmānam ātmanā | jahi śhatruṁ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam || 3.43 || Thus, knowing the Self to be superior to the intellect, and steadying the lower self by the higher Self, O mighty-armed, slay this formidable enemy in the form of desire. →