🌟 Shloka 1 of 20 – Do Your Duty Without Attachment

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Shloka 47 – Deep Dive
“Your right is to action alone…”

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📜 Sanskrit Verse

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥

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🔤 Transliteration

karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi

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🌍 English Translation

You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not 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.

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🧭 Context in the Gita

This is one of the most foundational verses of the entire Bhagavad Gita. It appears in Chapter 2 (Sankhya Yoga), where Krishna first begins to reveal spiritual wisdom to a confused Arjuna.

At this point, Arjuna is paralyzed by the fear of consequences — killing his kin, winning a kingdom through violence, or failing in his dharma. Krishna, with sharp clarity, explains: “You are not the doer of results, but only of your effort.”

This verse marks the birth of Karma Yoga, the Yoga of selfless action.

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🔍 Line-by-Line Explanation

🔹 कर्मण्येव अधिकारः ते

“You have the right only to perform action…”
Krishna emphasizes that our jurisdiction is over effort, not outcomes. We do not control the result — it’s shaped by countless factors (past karma, others’ actions, divine timing).

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🔹 मा फलेषु कदाचन

“…never at any time to the fruits thereof.”
Expectations of results are the root of stress and disappointment. Attachment to fruit leads to anxiety. Detachment to fruit leads to peace.

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🔹 मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूः

“Do not become the cause of the fruits of action.”
Don’t act with selfish motives. Let action arise from duty, not desire. When you see yourself as the doer of result, ego and pride grow.

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🔹 मा ते सङ्गः अस्तु अकर्मणि

“Let not your attachment be to inaction.”
Don’t give up your duties just because results are uncertain. Avoid laziness and escapism. Action is always better than inaction in dharmic life.

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🧠 Modern Life Applications

🧑‍💻 In Work

• Focus on excellence, not appraisal
• Avoid over-stressing about results
• Show up, give your best — repeat

🧘 In Spiritual Practice

• Meditate daily, even if you “feel nothing”
• Offer prayers without expecting miracles
• Chant with love, not calculation

💑 In Relationships

• Give love without demanding validation
• Be kind without needing return
• Parent, support, or serve — with pure heart

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✨ Real-Life Analogy

A farmer sows seeds, waters the field, protects the crop — but the rain and sunshine are not in his hands.
He does not stop farming due to weather risk. He does his dharma.

You are that farmer. The seed is your effort. The result is grace.

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📿 Daily Practice Tip (Layman-Friendly)

✅ Before you start your work, study, or daily tasks, pause for 10 seconds. Say this aloud or in your mind:

“I will give my best. The result is not in my hands.”

You can also write this line on a sticky note and place it on your desk, mirror, or phone screen.
Just repeat this simple thought daily — that’s Karma Yoga in action.

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🪔 Takeaway Affirmation

🎵 I will act with a focused mind,
Unshaken by the fruit I find.
My strength is duty, not desire,
Detached I rise, steady I aspire. 🎵