Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 55
मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो मद्भक्तः सङ्गवर्जितः।
निर्वैरः सर्वभूतेषु यः स मामेति पाण्डव।।
निर्वैरः सर्वभूतेषु यः स मामेति पाण्डव।।
mat-karma-kṛn mat-paramo mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ
nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava
also searched as "mat-karma-krin mat-paramo mad-bhaktah sanga-varjitah"
Translation
Whoever works for Me, regards Me as the highest and is devoted to Me, free from attachment and without animosity towards any creature, they come to Me, O Arjuna.
Vāṇi's rendering
Work for me, make me your highest, love me; drop attachment, bear no creature ill will — and you come to me.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मत्कर्मकृत्mat-karma-kṛn | doing my work; acting for my sake (kṛt becomes kṛn before the following m) |
| मत्परमःmat-paramo | one for whom I am the highest, the final aim |
| मद्भक्तःmad-bhaktaḥ | loving me; my devotee |
| सङ्गवर्जितःsaṅga-varjitaḥ | free of clinging, attachment set aside |
| निर्वैरःnirvairaḥ | carrying no enmity, no ill will |
| सर्वभूतेषुsarva-bhūteṣu | toward all beings, every creature |
| यःyaḥ | whoever |
| सःsa | that one |
| माम्mām | to me |
| एतिeti | comes, arrives |
| पाण्डवpāṇḍava | O son of Pāṇḍu — Arjuna |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 55 mean?
It is Krishna's closing instruction after the cosmic vision. Do your work as his work, hold him as the highest aim, love him, let go of clinging, and carry no hatred toward any living thing. Five conditions that are really one life. Whoever lives that way, Krishna says, arrives at him — not later, but by that living.
What does mat-karma-krin mat-paramo mad-bhaktah sanga-varjitah teach?
That devotion is not withdrawal. The work continues — the same tasks, the same battlefield — but the ownership shifts. Krishna becomes both the one you work for and the thing you most want. Then attachment has nothing left to grip, because you are no longer trading your effort for a result you intend to keep.
Why does Krishna end the chapter with no enmity toward any being?
Because Arjuna has just seen all beings inside Krishna's form. After such a sight, hatred has no address to be sent to. Nirvairaḥ is not a moral rule bolted on at the end; it is what naturally follows from having seen where everyone actually lives.
How do I practice this verse in ordinary life?
Begin with the one thing in front of you and change who it is for. Then notice the person you are quietly at war with, and set that war down — not by forgiving grandly, but by stopping. Attachment and enmity are the two hands that grip. Open them, and the work goes on lighter.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
After the mouths and the fire and the worlds crumbling into them, Krishna ends with something a person can do on a Tuesday. Five plain conditions, and they are one movement. Arjuna has just seen every being he was about to kill already held inside that form — so enmity becomes impossible; you cannot hate what you have watched being carried. Attachment loosens for the same reason. What remains is work done for Krishna, with Krishna as the highest thing you want. The vision was not given to overwhelm you. It was given so the next ordinary hour has somewhere to go.