A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Peace comes when action is no longer chained to reward.”
The disciplined one gives up the fruit of action and attains steady peace. The undisciplined one, clinging to results through desire, becomes bound.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallydisciplined one · fruit of action · having given up · peace · attains · undisciplined one · through desire · in the fruit · attached · is bound
Letting go of results brings steady peace. Wanting a specific reward keeps you trapped.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (The Yoga of Renunciation).
Verse 12 sits in Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "The Yoga of Renunciation". The chapter has 29 verses in total.
Two farmers sow the same crop. One works the field and accepts the rain as it comes; the other lies awake over prices. Krishna names the difference: dropping the fruit brings steady peace, and clinging to it binds.
Did you like this verse?
Shift attention from getting to giving; that loosens the mind’s grip.
What this verse means
Letting go of results brings steady peace. Wanting a specific reward keeps you trapped.
Context & commentary
Krishna explains to Arjuna, who stands frozen between duty and fear, that craving the reward is what binds. The one who gives up attachment to results finds steady peace.
What it looks like today
Two farmers sow the same crop. One works the field and accepts the rain as it comes; the other lies awake over prices. Krishna names the difference: dropping the fruit brings steady peace, and clinging to it binds.
“Let go of the reward and you find peace; crave it and you stay bound.”
Explore related themes: karma yoga (55 verses), attachment (20 verses), nishkama (14 verses)