A core teaching · devotional in mood · a little context helps
“True closeness releases craving, anxiety, and compulsive beginning.”
One who has no expectation, is pure, skilled, detached, free from anxiety, and has given up all undertakings is dear to me, my devotee.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallywithout expectation · pure · skilled · detached · free from distress · one who has given up all undertakings · who · my devotee · that one · to me · dear
Krishna says his beloved devotee has no craving, stays inwardly clean, acts skillfully, remains detached, and drops anxious new beginnings.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Bhakti Yoga" (The Yoga of Devotion).
Verse 16 sits in Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita — Bhakti Yoga, "The Yoga of Devotion". The chapter has 20 verses in total.
A retired teacher keeps signing up for new committees because an empty afternoon makes him anxious. Krishna's devotee does what is needed with skill and stops launching new projects out of restlessness.
Did you like this verse?
Anapeksha, without expectation, heads Krishna's list here: clean, skilled, unworried, and done with restless new ventures.
What this verse means
Krishna says his beloved devotee has no craving, stays inwardly clean, acts skillfully, remains detached, and drops anxious new beginnings.
Context & commentary
Krishna defines the devotee who is close to him. This verse adds another layer to the chapter’s portrait: the beloved one has no craving, no inner agitation, and no urge to keep launching new projects from restlessness.
What it looks like today
A retired teacher keeps signing up for new committees because an empty afternoon makes him anxious. Krishna's devotee does what is needed with skill and stops launching new projects out of restlessness.
“Devotion here feels light, not needy. Love becomes cleaner when grasping and restless starting are gone.”
Explore related themes: bhakti (69 verses), sattva (26 verses), surrender (23 verses)