अर्पण

Arpana means handing over, giving something as an offering. In the Gita it appears in two forms: as a gift, and as the way a whole piece of work is done.

In the ninth chapter the Lord first says that He accepts a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water offered with devotion (Gita 9.26). Then He tells Arjuna that whatever he does, eats, offers in sacrifice, gives or practises as austerity should be done as an offering to Him (Gita 9.27). Here offering is not a sixth act added to the five. It is a way of doing each act: the work stays the same, but it is done as the Lord's work.

Offering loosens one's claim on the action and its fruit. That is why the Lord says it frees a person from the bonds of both good and evil results (Gita 9.28). The same call was made to Arjuna in the middle of the battlefield: hand over all actions, give up expectation and possessiveness, and fight (Gita 3.30).

Common misreading: that offering means giving up action or performing a separate rite.

Better sense: action goes on, and Arjuna himself is told to act. What is handed over is the claim on the action and its fruit, not the action.

The whole topic is in A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water.