Bhagavad Gita 2.47

भगवद्गीता 2.47

KrishnaDevotion

Sanskrit Text

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि।।2.47।।

Transliteration

karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana| mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo'stvakarmaṇi||2.47||

Meaning (English)

2.47 As for obligatory, occasional and desiderative acts taught in the Vedas and associated with some result or other, you, an aspirant established in Sattva, have the right only to perform them: You have no right to the fruits known to be derived from such acts. Acts done with a desire for fruit bring about bondage. But acts done without an eye on fruits form My worship and become a means for release. Do not become an agent of acts with the idea of being the reaper of their fruits. Even when y

Meaning (Hindi)

Benefits

•Spiritual growth
•Inner peace
•Divine blessings

Best Time

Any time

Chant Count

1 times

Source

Bhagavad Gita 2.47, Ch. 2, V. 47

Scholarly Context

Origin & Textual Home

Karmaṇyevādhikāraste — 'You have a right to action alone' — is Bhagavad Gītā 2.47, the single most quoted verse of the entire text. It appears in chapter 2, where Kṛṣṇa has just finished the exposition of the imperishable ātman (verses 11-30) and is laying out the practical response. The verse does not stand alone — it is part of a four-verse cluster (2.47-50) that defines karma-yoga as the art of action performed without attachment to its fruits. Traditionally placed in the dialogue at the moment Arjuna transitions from paralysis to engagement, the verse marks the text's decisive move from metaphysics to ethics.

How to Chant

The verse is in Anuṣṭubh meter (32 syllables, 4 pādas of 8). A full traditional recitation includes the following verse (2.48) 'yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi' which names the quality of equanimity in action. Morning japa of this verse — typically 11, 27, or 108 times — is a common practice among karma-yogis and householders who want to enter the workday with the right orientation. The verse is also inscribed on the walls of most government buildings in India because of its non-sectarian ethical appeal.

Traditional Benefits

The traditional benefit is freedom from two opposite neuroses: paralysis (when outcomes seem uncertain) and greed (when outcomes seem abundant). Tilak's Gītā-rahasya (1915) re-read the verse as the ethical foundation of the Indian independence movement — duty without attachment. In modern management and psychology literature, the verse has been cited as an early articulation of intrinsic motivation theory: performance improves when outcome-orientation is replaced by process-orientation.

Deeper Meaning

The verse contains a subtle philosophical move. 'Mā te saṅgo'stvakarmaṇi' — 'let there be no attachment to inaction' — prevents the misreading that renunciation of results means renunciation of action itself. Rāmānuja's Gītā-bhāṣya distinguishes phala-tyāga (renunciation of fruit) from kartṛtva-tyāga (renunciation of ownership of action) — the former is karma-yoga; the latter, properly located in Kṛṣṇa, is jñāna-yoga. Śaṅkara, by contrast, reads even the phala-tyāga of 2.47 as preparatory to the eventual recognition that there is no doer at all. The verse, in effect, is an invitation that different commentarial schools accept at different depths.