Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 45
स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः।स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु।।
sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ sansiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ
sva-karma-nirataḥ siddhiṁ yathā vindati tac cchṛṇu
also searched as "sve sve karmany abhiratah sansiddhim labhate narah"
Translation
Devoting oneself to one's duty, one attains perfection. Hear now how one devoted to their own duty attains perfection.
Vāṇi's rendering
Devoted to their own work, each person can reach perfection. Hear how such devotion finds it.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| स्वेsve | in one's own |
| स्वेsve | each in his own — the repetition means every person, without exception |
| कर्मणिkarmaṇi | in work, in the duty that falls to one (joined with the next word as karmaṇy) |
| अभिरतःabhirataḥ | devoted, taking delight in |
| संसिद्धिम्sansiddhim | complete perfection, the fullest ripening |
| लभतेlabhate | attains, comes to have |
| नरःnaraḥ | a person, any human being |
| स्वकर्मनिरतःsva-karma-nirataḥ | absorbed in one's own work |
| सिद्धिम्siddhim | perfection, the goal reached |
| यथाyathā | how, in what manner |
| विन्दतिvindati | finds, discovers |
| तत्tat | that (joined with the next word as tac) |
| शृणुśṛṇu | hear, listen now |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 45 mean?
It means the road to perfection runs through the work already in your hands. Krishna says any person, devoted to their own karma, reaches sansiddhi — the complete ripening. No task is too small to carry someone all the way. The verse then promises to explain how that devotion actually works.
What does sve sve karmany abhiratah labhate narah teach?
That the repetition matters. Sve sve — each in his own. Krishna is not ranking the work; he is saying the same fulfilment is available from every position on the field. What differs is the task. What does not differ is the devotion required, and what that devotion yields.
Does this verse mean I should never change my work?
No. Krishna is not chaining you to a job title. He is removing the excuse that your present work is unworthy of your full attention. Change what you do if it is right to change it — but do not wait for better work before you begin working wholly.
What is the difference between siddhi and sansiddhi here?
Siddhi is the goal reached; sansiddhi carries the prefix sam, meaning whole, complete, nothing left over. Krishna uses the larger word first, then the plainer one. The point is that ordinary duty, done with delight, does not yield a partial result. It yields the entire thing.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Not someone else's work. Yours. Krishna has just finished dividing work by nature, and now he says the door is the same width for everyone standing in front of it — the teacher, the trader, the one who serves. Perfection is not in the grandeur of the task but in the devotion brought to it. Abhirataḥ means delighting in, not merely doing. Arjuna wants a better assignment; he is offered a better relationship with the one he has. And then Krishna says: hear how. There is a method coming. Stop scanning other people's lives for the work that would finally be worth your whole attention.