Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 3 › Verse 9
Bhagavad Gītā 3.9: Work as an offering
यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः ।
तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर ॥
yajñārthātkarmaṇo'nyatra loko'yaṃ karmabandhanaḥ
tadarthaṃ karma kaunteya muktasaṅgaḥ samācara
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Apart from action performed for the sake of sacrifice (yajña), this world is bound by action. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform action for that purpose, free from attachment. Yajña, in the Vedas a ritual offering, becomes in the Gītā a wider idea: any action offered beyond oneself, which is what keeps action from binding.
For children
Krishna says: “When you do things only for yourself, you get stuck. When you do things as a gift, you feel free.”
Kṛṣṇa explains how to act without being bound: as yajña, an offering. This leads into 3.10–3.16.
Word by word
यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र — Except for work done as an offering
- yajña: offering, sacrifice
- artha: for the sake of
- anyatra: other than
लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः — this world is tied up by its actions
- loka: world, people
- karmabandhana: bound by action
तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय — so do your work for that purpose, Arjuna
- tadartham: for that purpose
- kaunteya: son of Kuntī (Arjuna)
मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर — free from clinging
- muktasaṅga: free from clinging
- samācara: do (it) well!
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.