The Verse (Sanskrit + Transliteration)
Sanskrit (Devanagari):
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ २.४७ ॥
Transliteration (IAST):
karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi
Word-for-word meaning:
- karmaṇi — in action / duty
- eva — certainly / only
- adhikāraḥ — right / entitlement
- te — your
- mā — never
- phaleṣhu — in the fruits / results
- kadāchana — at any time
- karma-phala — fruit of action
- hetuḥ — cause / motive
- bhūḥ — be
- saṅgaḥ — attachment
- astu — let there be
- akarmaṇi — in inaction
Full Meaning
"You have the right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are never entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."
This single verse contains four distinct instructions:
- Act on your duty — you have a right and a responsibility to act
- Don't claim ownership of results — outcomes are not yours to control
- Don't make results your motive — don't act in order to get a specific fruit
- Don't retreat into inaction — non-action is not the answer either
Context: Why Did Krishna Say This?
Arjuna, at the start of the Bhagavad Gita, refuses to fight. He sees his kinsmen on the opposing side and concludes that the grief of killing them is worse than the sin of abandoning his duty. He tells Krishna: "I will not fight."
Krishna's response across 18 chapters is essentially a multi-layered answer to this refusal. Verse 2.47 is one of the earliest and most direct answers: the problem isn't the action itself — it's Arjuna's attachment to a specific outcome (winning, losing, preserving relationships). When the mind is absorbed in results it cannot control, it is incapable of clear action.
Why This Verse Is So Widely Quoted
2.47 is arguably the most memorized verse outside the Gita's introductory prayers, for two reasons:
1. It is immediately applicable in daily life
Whether you're preparing for an exam, negotiating a contract, or raising a child — the anxiety that comes from "I need this particular result" is the same anxiety Arjuna felt on the battlefield. The prescription (focus on what you control; act fully; release the rest) is universally applicable.
2. It resolves an apparent paradox
People often read it as "actions don't matter." In fact the opposite is true: the verse insists you must act, with full dedication (karma eva adhikaras te). The detachment is from outcomes, not from effort.
Common Misreadings
Misreading: "This verse teaches fatalism — whatever happens will happen."
Not so. The verse explicitly forbids inaction (mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi). You are commanded to act. Fatalism would allow you to sit still. Karma Yoga does not.
Misreading: "This is an excuse not to care about quality."
Again, the opposite. When you're not anxious about outcomes, you're more available for quality work — your attention is on the process, not on what you'll get at the end.
How to Internalize This Verse
Understanding 2.47 intellectually is the starting point. But the Gita's tradition holds that a teaching must pass from shravana (hearing) → manana (reflection) → nididhyasana (deep, repeated contemplation) before it transforms behavior.
Memorizing the Sanskrit — so the verse arises spontaneously under pressure — is part of nididhyasana. Practice Gita's spaced repetition system is designed for this: you encounter 2.47 repeatedly, across Devanagari, transliteration, and meaning, until it becomes as natural as breathing.