Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 51
कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः।
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम्।।
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम्।।
karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ
janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ padaṁ gacchanty-anāmayam
also searched as "karmajam buddhiyukta hi phalam tyaktva manishinah"
Translation
The wise, who possess evenness of mind, relinquish the fruits born of action, and are freed from the bondage of birth, going to the region beyond all ills.
Vāṇi's rendering
Giving up the fruits of action, the wise slip the knot of rebirth and reach the place beyond sorrow.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कर्मजंkarma-jaṁ | born of action; produced by what you do |
| बुद्धियुक्ताःbuddhi-yuktāḥ | joined to a settled understanding |
| हिhi | indeed |
| फलंphalaṁ | the fruit, the result |
| त्यक्त्वाtyaktvā | having let go of |
| मनीषिणःmanīṣiṇaḥ | the wise; those who truly think |
| जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताःjanma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ | wholly loosed from the bondage of birth |
| पदंpadaṁ | the place, the state, the ground reached |
| गच्छन्तिgacchanti | they go, they reach (sandhi with the next word) |
| अनामयम्anāmayam | free of disease, where nothing ails |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 51 mean?
It means the wise act fully and let the fruit go, and that letting go is itself the loosening. Krishna links two things people keep apart: giving up the claim on results, and freedom from the round of birth. The grip on outcome is the knot. Release it and you stand in padam anāmayam — a place where nothing ails.
What is the meaning of karmajam buddhiyukta hi phalam tyaktva manishinah?
Buddhi-yuktāḥ are those whose understanding has settled; manīṣiṇaḥ are those who actually think things through. Such people release phalam, the fruit born of action. Not the action — the fruit. They keep working. They simply stop carrying what was never theirs to carry, and the weight of consequence loses its hold on them.
Does this verse tell me to stop caring about results?
No. Caring makes work good; clutching makes work heavy. Krishna asks you to aim well and then release ownership of where the arrow lands. You will still notice the result, still learn from it. What ends is the bargaining — the sense that your worth rides on the outcome.
What does anamayam mean here?
Anāmayam is literally without disease, without affliction. Krishna uses a body word for a state beyond the body. Wanting is described as a kind of sickness — a fever of reaching. The place the wise arrive at is not a reward elsewhere; it is the same life, with the fever gone.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Notice the order Krishna gives. The fruit goes first; the freedom follows. Not renunciation of work — manīṣiṇaḥ, the thinking ones, are still acting, still in the field. What they have set down is the claim on outcome, and with it the thread that ties one action to the next wanting, and that wanting to another birth. Bondage here is not a punishment. It is simply what a held result does: it pulls. Anāmayam means without disease — the place where nothing aches because nothing is being clutched. You loosen your grip on one result today, and something in you stops pulling.