Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 47

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥

Transliteration

karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana .
mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo.astvakarmaṇi ॥

Meaning

Your right is to action alone, never to its fruits. Do not let the fruit of action be your motive, nor let yourself be attached to inaction.

Word meanings

कर्मणि – in action
एव – alone, only
अधिकारः – right, entitlement
ते – your
मा – not
फलेषु – in the fruits
कदाचन – ever, at any time
मा – do not
कर्मफलहेतुः – one motivated by the fruits of action
भूः – be
मा – not
ते – your
सङ्गः – attachment
अस्तु – let there be
अकर्मणि – in inaction

Anvaya (word order)

ते कर्मणि एव अधिकारः (अस्ति), फलेषु कदाचन मा (अधिकारः अस्तु) । (त्वं) कर्मफलहेतुः मा भूः; ते अकर्मणि सङ्गः मा अस्तु ।

Explanation

This is the most famous verse of the Bhagavad Gita and the foundational principle of karma yoga. For centuries it has inspired seekers, thinkers, leaders and ordinary people alike. It contains four distinct injunctions, each of which deserves to be understood on its own.

The first: ‘karmany evadhikaras te’ — your right is to action alone. An ‘adhikara’ is what lies fully within our control. What we do, how we do it, with how much sincerity — this is in our hands. So all our strength and attention should go into doing the work as well as it can be done.

The second: ‘ma phaleshu kadachana’ — never to its fruits. The result depends on many factors: circumstances, the actions of others, timing, past karma and the divine order. A farmer sows and waters, but the rain is not his to command. When we treat the result as our right, failure crushes us and success makes us proud. Note that the verse does not say actions bear no fruit — they certainly do; it says only that we have no ownership or claim over that fruit.

The third: ‘ma karma-phala-hetur bhuh’ — do not let the fruit be your motive. When action is done only to obtain a result, it becomes bondage; craving for fruit becomes the cause of further action and further birth. Shankara puts it thus: one who acts out of thirst for results becomes the cause of the birth of those results; do not be such a person.

The fourth: ‘ma te sango ’stv akarmani’ — nor be attached to inaction. This is a crucial warning. Someone might argue: if I have no claim on the fruit, why act at all? Krishna closes this door in advance. Inactivity, laziness or escape is no solution. That is exactly what Arjuna wanted — to abandon the battle. Krishna says that clinging to non-action is itself an attachment.

The acharyas illuminate the verse in their own ways. Shankara sees it as a means of purifying the mind: desireless action cleanses the mind, and in a pure mind Self-knowledge dawns. Ramanuja teaches that the seeker should perform his daily and occasional duties without desire for reward, as worship of the Lord. Madhva sees in it the attitude that action should be done for the pleasure of God, since it is the Lord who grants all fruits.

The practical message is profound. A student's right is to study, not to the marks; an athlete's right is to training and play, not to victory; an entrepreneur's right is to honest effort, not to the market. Paradoxically, when we act wholeheartedly without anxiety over results, the results are often better, because the mind, freed from fear and tension, is fully absorbed in the work.

The essence is this: act with full dedication, leave the fruit to God, do not be driven by greed for results, and never run from your duty. That is karma yoga, and it is the way to a calm, meaningful and free life.

Context

In 2.46 Krishna said that for the knower of Brahman the fruits promised in the Vedas are secondary. Here He states the central principle of karma yoga — a right to action, not to its fruits. In the next verse (2.48) He tells Arjuna to act established in yoga, even-minded in success and failure, for equanimity is yoga.

Life lesson

Put all your energy into the quality of your action, for that is what lies in your hands; leave the outcome to God and circumstance. Do not act out of greed for results — but do not abandon action out of fear of failure either.

Key terms

Adhikara: right; what lies within one's control and responsibility
Karma-phala-hetu: one who acts with the fruit as motive
Akarma: here, inaction, abandoning action
Nishkama karma: action done as duty, free of desire for its fruits