Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 49
दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय।
बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणाः फलहेतवः।।
बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणाः फलहेतवः।।
dūreṇa hy-avaraṁ karma buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya
buddhau śaraṇam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ
also searched as "durena hy avaram karma buddhiyogad dhananjaya"
Translation
Action done with attachment, O Arjuna, is far inferior to action done with evenness of mind. Seek refuge in evenness of mind; those who act with a motive for results are miserable.
Vāṇi's rendering
Action chasing results is a poor thing beside wisdom. Take shelter in understanding — result-chasers are to be pitied.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| दूरेणdūreṇa | by far, by a great distance |
| हिhi | indeed (joined to the next word by sandhi as hy-) |
| अवरम्avaram | lower, inferior, a poor thing |
| कर्मkarma | action — here, action driven by its result |
| बुद्धियोगात्buddhi-yogāt | than the way of steady understanding (the final -t becomes -d before the next word) |
| धनञ्जयdhanañjaya | winner of wealth — Krishna's name for Arjuna |
| बुद्धौbuddhau | in that clear understanding |
| शरणम्śaraṇam | refuge, shelter |
| अन्विच्छanviccha | seek out, go looking for |
| कृपणाःkṛpaṇāḥ | pitiable ones, the small-hearted, the miserly |
| फलहेतवःphala-hetavaḥ | those whose motive is the fruit of what they do |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 49 mean?
It measures two ways of working against each other. Action bent on its result is far inferior to action done from a settled understanding — buddhi-yoga. Krishna tells Arjuna to take refuge there, in clarity itself, and calls those who work only for the fruit kṛpaṇāḥ: pitiable, small, poor in the middle of their own effort.
What does durena hy avaram karma buddhiyogad dhananjaya teach?
That the gap between the two kinds of action is not slight — dūreṇa, by a long way. Work squeezed dry for its outcome is a lesser thing than the same work done from steadiness. Krishna is not ranking tasks. He is ranking the mind that carries them.
Why does Krishna call people who want results pitiable?
Kṛpaṇa means miserly as well as pitiable. Someone who acts only for the fruit has made himself small — his peace now depends on a thing the world decides. Krishna is not condemning him. He is grieving for him. That kind of life is anxious in victory and shattered in defeat.
Does this verse mean I should not care about the outcome of my work?
Care, aim, work well — Krishna never asks for indifference. He asks that your steadiness not be hostage to the outcome. Do the thing with full skill and let the result arrive as it will. What changes is not the quality of your effort but where you have stored your peace.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna calls them kṛpaṇāḥ — the pitiable, the miserly. Not wicked, not failures. Just small. A man who acts only for the fruit has shrunk his whole life to the size of an outcome he cannot control, and he will be poor whether he wins or loses. Arjuna has been counting consequences since the first chapter. Krishna does not tell him the count is wrong; he tells him the counting is a poor way to live. Take shelter in understanding — śaraṇam, the word for refuge, the word one uses for a god. Let the clear mind be the place you go when the result frightens you.