Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 12, Verse 10
अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव।मदर्थमपि कर्माणि कुर्वन् सिद्धिमवाप्स्यसि।।
abhyāse ’py asamartho ’si mat-karma-paramo bhava
mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi
also searched as "abhyase 'py asamartho 'si mat-karma-paramo bhava"
Translation
If you are incapable of even this practice of repetition, then devote yourself to My deeds. For even by working for My sake, you will attain perfection.
Vāṇi's rendering
If practice too is beyond you, then simply work for me. Acting for my sake, you will still arrive.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अभ्यासेabhyāse | in practice, in the repeated turning of the mind |
| अपिapi | even (appears as 'py by sandhi with abhyāse) |
| असमर्थःasamarthaḥ | unable, not up to it (shortened to asamartho before asi) |
| असिasi | you are |
| मत्कर्मपरमःmat-karma-paramaḥ | one for whom work done for me is supreme |
| भवbhava | become, be |
| मदर्थम्mad-artham | for my sake, on my account |
| अपिapi | even, merely |
| कर्माणिkarmāṇi | actions, the ordinary work of your days |
| कुर्वन्kurvan | doing, while performing |
| सिद्धिम्siddhim | the goal reached, completion |
| अवाप्स्यसिavāpsyasi | you will attain, you will arrive |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 10 mean?
It means the path does not close when your discipline fails. If holding the mind on Krishna is beyond you, and even steady abhyāsa is beyond you, then let your ordinary work be done for his sake. That alone carries you to the same completion. The doing is yours; the direction of it is what changes everything.
What does abhyase py asamartho si mat-karma-paramo bhava teach?
It teaches that Krishna meets you at whatever rung you are standing on. He names your incapacity plainly — asamartho 'si, you are not able — and does not scold it. He simply offers a lower step: work, offered to him. No inner achievement is required first. Only the willingness to work in his name.
How do I work for Krishna's sake if my job feels ordinary?
Nothing in the verse asks you to change the work. Karmāṇi means the actions already in front of you — the meal, the ledger, the sick child, the commute. What shifts is whose the effort is. Do it as an offering rather than an accumulation, and the ordinary work becomes the practice you thought you had failed.
Does this verse mean devotion is easier than knowledge?
It means Krishna leaves no one outside. Chapter twelve descends in steps: fix the mind, then practise, then work for me, then give up the fruits. Each step asks less of your capacity and nothing less of your sincerity. Siddhi is promised at every rung. You are not being graded on which rung you found.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Krishna keeps lowering the bar. Fix the mind on me — you cannot. Then practice — you cannot. Then this: just do the work, and let it be for me. Notice that nothing is demanded of your inner state now. Only your hands, and who they are for. The same errands, the same cooking and carrying — turned toward him. Arjuna is being met exactly where he stands, and so are you. You will still arrive: not later, not less. The gate is not high. It was never high. Change the address on the labor you are already doing.