Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 23
यदि ह्यहं न वर्तेयं जातु कर्मण्यतन्द्रितः।
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः।।
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः।।
yadi hyahaṁ na varteyaṁ jātu karmaṇyatandritaḥ
mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
also searched as "yadi hyaham na varteyam jatu karmanyatandritah"
Translation
If I did not continue to work unweariedly, O Arjuna, people would follow my path.
Vāṇi's rendering
If I ever stopped working, people everywhere would follow my example and stop.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यदिyadi | if |
| हिhi | indeed, for (joined as hyahaṁ) |
| अहम्aham | I |
| नna | not |
| वर्तेयम्varteyam | were to keep engaged, were to carry on |
| जातुjātu | ever, at any time |
| कर्मणिkarmaṇi | in work (joined as karmaṇyatandritaḥ) |
| अतन्द्रितःatandritaḥ | untiring, never slackening |
| ममmama | my |
| वर्त्मvartma | path, the track I make (joined as vartmānuvartante) |
| अनुवर्तन्तेanuvartante | follow after, imitate |
| मनुष्याःmanuṣyāḥ | human beings |
| पार्थpārtha | O Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| सर्वशःsarvaśaḥ | in every way, on all sides |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 23 mean?
Krishna says that if he ever let his work lapse, people everywhere would take that lapse as permission and let theirs lapse too. He has nothing to win by acting. He acts because the track he walks becomes a road others use. Example carries further than instruction.
What does 'yadi hyaham na varteyam jatu karmanyatandritah' teach?
Atandritaḥ means without slackening — not frantic, simply unbroken. Krishna binds himself to steady work for one reason: manuṣyāḥ sarvaśaḥ, people on all sides, are following. The verse turns duty outward. Your effort is never only yours; it is being read by whoever stands near you.
Why would Krishna need to work if he needs nothing?
Because need is not the only reason to act. The previous verse said nothing in the three worlds remains for him to obtain. This one gives the other motive: the world imitates whoever it looks up to. Where there is no hunger left, there is still responsibility.
How does this verse apply to ordinary life?
Someone is always downstream of you — a child, a junior colleague, a friend watching how you meet a hard month. They will not copy your speeches. They will copy the day you quietly gave up. Keep working, not for the result, but because your steadiness is being borrowed.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just said there is nothing left for him to gain. Then why lift a finger? Because someone is watching. He works not out of need but because the moment he stops, everyone below him stops too — and calls it wisdom. Arjuna is a man others follow; so are you, more than you know. Your children, the person you manage, the friend who watches how you handle a bad week. Nobody announces they are copying you. They simply do. The argument is not that you are important. It is that no one's slackening stays private.