📿 Shloka Collection

Etany Api Tu Karmani

Gita 18.6 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga
एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च ।
कर्तव्यानीति मे पार्थ निश्चितं मतमुत्तमम् ॥
Etany api tu karmani sangam tyaktva phalani cha
Kartavyaniti me Partha nishchitam matam uttamam
एतानि अपि
even these — even these sacred actions
सङ्गम् त्यक्त्वा
giving up attachment
फलानि च
and the fruits as well
कर्तव्यानि
should be performed — are duties
निश्चितम्
definitive — firm
मतम् उत्तमम्
the highest view — the supreme opinion

Krishna adds a crucial condition. Yes, yajna, charity, and austerity must be performed — but without attachment, and without craving for results. Perform the action. Release the outcome. This, Krishna says, is my definitive and highest view.

The word 'uttamam' stands out. Krishna does not say 'this is one way to look at it.' He says: this is my supreme opinion. In a text where Krishna often presents multiple paths with equal grace, this kind of emphasis is rare. He wants no confusion on this point.

This is the essence of nishkama karma — selfless action — restated in the final chapter with full force. Do good work. Offer it freely. Do not keep a mental ledger of what you are owed in return.

The teaching of nishkama karma (selfless action) was first introduced in Chapter 3. Here in the eighteenth chapter, the same teaching is restated with even greater firmness.

Krishna's use of 'uttamam' (supreme) signals that this is not merely one opinion among many. Within the Gita's framework, this is the most important teaching.

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