Sacred Learning
Bhagavad Gītā 2.47 (vulgate)
Bhagavad Gītā 2.47 (vulgate)
Bhagavad Gītā 2.47 (vulgate)
Canonical source text
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
IAST transliteration
karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana | mā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi ||
Close translation
Your claim is to action alone, never to the fruits. Do not become the cause of the fruit of action; let there be no clinging in you to inaction.
Reader-friendly meaning
The verse gives a claim over the deed and releases the harvest. Inaction is also refused as a hiding place.
Meenananda editorial explanation
Seva in this Ashram is this verse with hands: cook, sweep, bow, and leave the fruit at the shrine.
Word meanings
- कर्मणि — in action
- अधिकारः — claim / fitness
- फलेषु — in fruits
Gītā 2.47, stable across common Indian vulgate prints. Sanskrit: public domain. Foundation translations: CC BY-SA 4.0.