A core teaching · grounding in mood · a little context helps
“Action becomes free when you stop claiming its results.”
Surrender all actions to me with the disciplined mind. Free from desire, possessiveness, and sorrow, fight.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyto me · all · actions · having renounced, having surrendered · with the inwardly aware mind · without desire · without possessiveness · having become · fight · free from fever, free from distress
Give every action inwardly to the divine, then do your duty without craving results, without clinging, and without inner distress.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Yoga" (The Yoga of Action).
Verse 30 sits in Chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Yoga, "The Yoga of Action". The chapter has 43 verses in total.
You send the message, make the hard call, or walk into the tense room knowing the outcome is not yours to own. What remains is clean action.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts action from self-protection to offering, so duty can be done without mental strain.
What this verse means
Give every action inwardly to the divine, then do your duty without craving results, without clinging, and without inner distress.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna stands frozen while two armies wait. Krishna gives him a way to act without inner collapse: place every deed inwardly before the divine, drop desire and possessiveness, and fight without feverish anxiety.
Why this verse still matters
You send the message, make the hard call, or walk into the tense room knowing the outcome is not yours to own. What remains is clean action.
“There is relief in acting cleanly when you stop carrying the outcome as personal property.”
Explore related themes: karma yoga (55 verses), vairagya (51 verses), nishkama karma (12 verses)