Chapter 3 karma yoga

Resize this responsive page to see the effect!

अर्जुन उवाच |
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन |
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव || 1||
व्यामिश्रेणेव वाक्येन बुद्धिं मोहयसीव मे |
तदेकं वद निश्चित्य येन श्रेयोऽहमाप्नुयाम् || 2||
arjunaḥ uvācha—Arjun said; jyāyasī—superior; chet—if; karmaṇaḥ—than fruitive action; te—by you; matā—is considered; buddhiḥ—intellect; janārdana—he who looks after the public, Krishna; tat—then; kim—why; karmaṇi—action; ghore—terrible; mām—me; niyojayasi—do you engage; keśhava—Krishna, the killer of the demon named Keshi; vyāmiśhreṇa iva—by your apparently ambiguous; vākyena—words; buddhim—intellect; mohayasi—I am getting bewildered; iva—as it were; me—my; tat—therefore; ekam—one; vada—please tell; niśhchitya—decisively; yena—by which; śhreyaḥ—the highest good; aham—I; āpnuyām—may attain
na karmanam anarambhan
naiskarmyam puruso 'snute
na ca sannyasanad eva
siddhim samadhigacchati
na—without; karmanam—of the prescribed duties; anarambhat—non-performance; naiskarmyam—freedom from reaction; purusah—man; asnute—achieve; na—nor; ca—also; sannyasanat—by renunciation; eva—simply; siddhim—success; samadhigacchati—attain.
na hi kascit ksanam api
jatu tisthaty akarma-krt
karyate hy avasah karma
sarvah prakrti-jair gunaih
na—nor; hi—certainly; kascit—anyone; ksanam—even a moment; api—also; jatu—even; tisthati—stands; akarma-krt—without doing something; karyate—is forced to do; hi—certainly; avasah—helplessly; karma—work; sarvah—everything; prakrti-jaih—out of the modes of material nature; gunaih—by the qualities.
karmendriyani samyamya
ya aste manasa smaran
indriyarthan vimudhatma
mithyacarah sa ucyate
karma-indriyani—the five working sense organs; samyamya—controlling; yah—anyone who; aste—remains; manasa—by mind; smaran—thinking; indriya-arthan—sense objects; vimudha—foolish; atma—soul; mithya-acarah—pretender; sah—he; ucyate—is called.
yas tv indriyani manasa
niyamyarabhate 'rjuna
karmendriyaih karma-yogam
asaktah sa visisyate
yah—one who; tu—but; indriyani—senses; manasa—by the mind; niyamya—regulating; arabhate—begins; arjuna—O Arjuna; karma-indriyaih—by the active sense organs; karma-yogam—devotion; asaktah—without attachment; sah—he; visisyate—by far the better.