A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Self-mastery makes action noble, not the outer task alone.”
Arjuna, the one who restrains the senses with the mind and begins karma yoga without attachment is श्रेष्ठ.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallywho · indeed · the senses · with the mind · having restrained · begins · Arjuna · with the organs of action · karma yoga · unattached · he · is श्रेष्ठ, excels
The best way to act is to keep the senses under the mind's control and do your work without attachment.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Yoga" (The Yoga of Action).
Verse 7 sits in Chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Yoga, "The Yoga of Action". The chapter has 43 verses in total.
A shop manager hears a rude customer and feels the urge to snap back. She pauses, steadies herself, and then handles the complaint without needing to win the argument.
Did you like this verse?
Krishna praises the one who reins in the senses with the mind and works without attachment.
What this verse means
The best way to act is to keep the senses under the mind's control and do your work without attachment.
Context & commentary
Krishna has already shown that action cannot be avoided and hypocrisy is useless. Now he gives the better method: control the senses, act through the body, and stay free of craving.
What it looks like today
A shop manager hears a rude customer and feels the urge to snap back. She pauses, steadies herself, and then handles the complaint without needing to win the argument.
“You do not need to be dragged around by impulse to be effective.”
Explore related themes: karma yoga (55 verses), manas (49 verses), indriya nigraha (14 verses)