Karmaṇy evādhikāras te: act without craving the fruit
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥
karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana |
mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo'stvakarmaṇi ||
Translation
Your concern is with action alone, never with its fruits. Do not let the fruit of action be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction.
Meaning
Probably the most quoted verse of the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna, who wants to give up the fight, that he has a right to act but no claim on the results. This is the core of karma-yoga, action without selfish desire for its fruit.
The second line closes the loophole: if results are not my business, why act at all? Kṛṣṇa forbids that too, "let there be no attachment to inaction".
A grammar note: Sanskrit forbids with mā plus an aorist without its augment (mā bhūḥ, "do not be"), an old construction kept from Vedic.
Word by word · 12 words
| Devanagari | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| कर्मणि | karmaṇi | in action (loc. sg. n.) |
| एव | eva | only |
| अधिकारः | adhikāraḥ | right, entitlement, concern (nom. sg. m.) |
| ते | te | your (gen. sg., unstressed) |
| मा | mā | not (here: never) |
| फलेषु | phaleṣu | in the fruits (loc. pl. n.) |
| कदाचन | kadācana | ever |
| कर्मफलहेतुः | karmaphalahetuḥ | one whose motive is the fruit of action (bahuvrīhi, nom. sg. m.) |
| भूः | bhūḥ | be (aorist of √bhū without augment; with mā: "do not be") |
| सङ्गः | saṅgaḥ | attachment (nom. sg. m.) |
| अस्तु | astu | let there be (3rd sg. imperative of √as) |
| अकर्मणि | akarmaṇi | to inaction (loc. sg. n.) |
Pronunciation
karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana |
mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgostvakarmaṇi ||
- karmaṇyevādhikāras = karmaṇi + eva + adhikāraḥ: kar-maṇ-ye-vā-dhi-kā-ras.
- saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi = saṅgaḥ + astu + akarmaṇi: saṅ-gos-tva-kar-ma-ṇi.
- ph is p with a puff of breath (as in "top-hat"), not f.
- bh, dh, gh, jh, ḍh are voiced consonants followed by breath: dh = d + h, as in "mad-house".