BG 2.47
“
“
Devanagari
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ ४७ ॥
Verse text
karmaṇy evādhikāras te
mā phaleṣu kadācana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr
mā te saṅgo ’stv akarmaṇi
Synonyms
karmaṇi
—
in prescribed duties
;
eva
—
certainly
;
adhikāraḥ
—
right
;
te
—
of you
;
mā
—
never
;
phaleṣu
—
in the fruits
;
kadācana
—
at any time
;
mā
—
never
;
karma-phala
—
in the result of the work
;
hetuḥ
—
cause
;
bhūḥ
—
become
;
mā
—
never
;
te
—
of you
;
saṅgaḥ
—
attachment
;
astu
—
there should be
;
akarmaṇi
—
in not doing prescribed duties.
Translation
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
47. You have qualification for prescribed work, but not the results of the work. Do not be the cause of results of work. Do not be attached to not doing work, or doing sinful work.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
47. You have qualification for prescribed work, but not for desiring the results of the work. Do not be the cause of results of work by desiring results. Do not be attached to non-performance of work.
Purport
There are three considerations here: prescribed duties, capricious work, and inaction. Prescribed duties are activities enjoined in terms of one’s acquired modes of material nature. Capricious work means actions without the sanction of authority, and inaction means not performing one’s prescribed duties. The Lord advised that Arjuna not be inactive, but that he perform his prescribed duty without being attached to the result. One who is attached to the result of his work is also the cause of the action. Thus he is the enjoyer or sufferer of the result of such actions.
As far as prescribed duties are concerned, they can be fitted into three subdivisions, namely routine work, emergency work and desired activities. Routine work performed as an obligation in terms of the scriptural injunctions, without desire for results, is action in the mode of goodness. Work with results becomes the cause of bondage; therefore such work is not auspicious. Everyone has his proprietary right in regard to prescribed duties, but should act without attachment to the result; such disinterested obligatory duties doubtlessly lead one to the path of liberation.
Arjuna was therefore advised by the Lord to fight as a matter of duty without attachment to the result. His nonparticipation in the battle is another side of attachment. Such attachment never leads one to the path of salvation. Any attachment, positive or negative, is cause for bondage. Inaction is sinful. Therefore, fighting as a matter of duty was the only auspicious path of salvation for Arjuna.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord wanted to speak about the processes of jṣāna, bhakti and karma-yoga to Arjuna, who was his dear friend. Having spoken of jṣāna and bhakti-yoga, the Lord then considered that these two were not suitable for Arjuna. Thus He now speaks of niṣkāma-karma-yoga.
“You are qualified for works. But those who crave the results are very impure in consciousness. But you have an almost pure heart. I can say this about you since I know you.”
“But in doing actions, a result must come.”
“By doing an action with a desire for a certain result, a person becomes the cause of that result. But you should not act in that manner. I give you that blessing. And do not become attracted to non-performance of your duty, or in doing sin (akarmaṇi), rather you should hate doing that. I give you that blessing also.”
However, in the next chapter, Arjuna says, “My intelligence is bewildered by these equivocal words.” This apparent lack of connection between the previous and later statements should be understood to be intentional, having a purpose. “Just as I stand as your charioteer awaiting your order, you also await My order.” One should see that Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna actually had real agreement of mind.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
“If jṣāna is attained by performance of prescribed duties, then sense control and other practices must also be practiced, since they are included in jṣāna. But that takes a great effort.”
Karmaṇi (action) is in the singular number to indicate a class of actions. “You, whose dharma is to fight, but who now think that this is not your dharma, because of impure heart, have the privilege for actions such as fighting. But I am the enjoyer of those actions. You do not have jurisdiction over the results, which cause bondage. I am the enjoyer of the results.”
“Even if I do not desire the results, those actions are linked with their results.”
“You should not be the cause for those results. Actions performed with desire are linked to their results, because the scriptures mention that there is linkage with results particularly when there is desire for results. Because of fear that results cause bondage, do not develop fondness (saṅgaḥ) for avoidance of work. Rather, show repulsion to that. Actions performed without desire will produce within themselves steadiness in jṣāna, like sprouts coming from grains. Sense control and other items will accompany that jṣāna.”
Surrender Unto Me
"Do your duty O Arjuna, but not in the Karma‑kanda mood of trying to enjoy sense gratification!"
This important verse describes "karmany evadhikaras te", that means, "your adhikary Arjuna, your qualification, your eligibility is for Karma, is "eva", certainly, for working. Don't be attached of not doing your duty and thinking in terms of "renunciation" and try to become self‑realized in the forest through Sankhya or Yoga. Your qualification, your capacity, is for working, but don't work for fruitive reasons work in the consciousness that I am going now to describe."