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Chapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized · 72 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized
2.502.52

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 2.51

Work without attachment; steady intelligence

कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः ।

जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम् ॥ ५१ ॥

karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi

phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ

janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ

padaṁ gacchanty anāmayam

Translation

By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries [by going back to Godhead].

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Freedom Through Devotional Service

  1. 1Through devotional service to the Lord, devotees become free from the results of work and repeated birth and death, returning to Godhead beyond all misery.
  2. 2No material body can offer freedom from birth, death, old age and disease. Working for material rewards cannot remove these miseries.
  3. 3We are eternal servants of the Lord, not His equals. Understanding this and lovingly serving Him makes us eligible for Vaikuṇṭha, where material misery and death are absent.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 2, Contents of the Gītā Summarized: work without attachment; steady intelligence.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Act dutifully without attachment to fruits.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: karma, sva-dharma.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 2.51 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to duty & action?

Practice

Do one task today purely because it is right.

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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 2.47Responsibility without ownership of outcomesBG 2.48Work without attachment; steady intelligenceBG 3.21Leadership by example

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Ask about BG 2.51 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.