Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 25
सक्ताः कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत।
कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसंग्रहम्।।
कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसंग्रहम्।।
saktāḥ karmaṇyavidvānso yathā kurvanti bhārata
kuryād vidvāns tathāsaktaś cikīrṣur loka-saṅgraham
also searched as "saktah karmanyavidvanso yatha kurvanti bharata"
Translation
Just as the ignorant, attached to their work, act, O Arjuna, so too the learned should act without any attachment, and only for the welfare of the world.
Vāṇi's rendering
The unwise act because they cling. The wise act just as fully — unclinging, for the world's good.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सक्ताःsaktāḥ | attached, clinging |
| कर्मणिkarmaṇi | to action, to the work (appears as karmaṇy before the vowel) |
| अविद्वांसःavidvānsaḥ | the unwise, those who do not know (appears as avidvānso before yathā) |
| यथाyathā | just as |
| कुर्वन्तिkurvanti | they act, they do |
| भारतbhārata | O Arjuna, descendant of Bharata |
| कुर्यात्kuryāt | should act |
| विद्वान्vidvān | the wise one, the one who knows |
| तथाtathā | so, in the same way |
| असक्तःasaktaḥ | unattached, without clinging (appears as asaktaś before cikīrṣuḥ) |
| चिकीर्षुःcikīrṣuḥ | wishing to bring about (appears as cikīrṣur before loka) |
| लोकसंग्रहम्loka-saṅgraham | the holding-together of the world, the good of all |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 25 mean?
It means the wise are not less busy than anyone else. Krishna points at the clinging person's sheer intensity and says: match it. What changes is not the amount of work but what the work is tied to. The unwise labour for themselves; the wise labour for loka-saṅgraham, the world's holding-together.
What is the meaning of saktah karmanyavidvanso yatha kurvanti bharata?
Saktāḥ means fastened, stuck to the action. Krishna is describing ordinary people burning themselves out over results, and He does not mock them. He borrows their fire. Act like that, He tells Arjuna — that whole-hearted, that committed — with the fastening cut.
Does acting without attachment make me lazy or indifferent?
The verse forbids exactly that reading. Krishna's standard for the wise is the unwise person's full effort — nothing withheld, nothing half-done. Indifference is not detachment; it is a quieter form of self-interest. Unclinging shows up as steadier work, not less of it.
What is loka-sangraha in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is the holding-together of the world — the ordinary weave of duty, example and care that keeps life workable for everyone else. Krishna gives it as the wise person's reason to act once personal gain has stopped being one. Your work stays; only its owner changes.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Look at what the unwise do right. They act — fully, tirelessly, with everything in them. Krishna does not tell Arjuna to act less than they do. The energy is not the problem; the clinging under it is. The unwise pour themselves into work because the outcome feels like their life. The wise pour themselves in just as hard, and the outcome is the world's. Same labour, same sweat, different root. Notice that Krishna asks nothing to be subtracted from your effort. He asks only what your effort is fastened to — your name, or the field you stand in.