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Chapter 3 · Karma-yoga · 43 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 3 · Karma-yoga
3.323.34

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 3.33

Act according to your proper duty

सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि ।

प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति ॥ ३३ ॥

sadṛśaṁ ceṣṭate svasyāḥ

prakṛter jñānavān api

prakṛtiṁ yānti bhūtāni

nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati

Translation

Even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature, for everyone follows the nature he has acquired from the three modes. What can repression accomplish?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

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

Nature and Kṛṣṇa Consciousness

  1. 1Even a person with knowledge follows the nature acquired from the three modes. Mere repression cannot change this.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that learning alone cannot free us from material nature, but Kṛṣṇa consciousness can.
  3. 3Rather than suddenly giving up your duties, continue them and seek Kṛṣṇa consciousness under proper guidance.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 3, Karma-yoga: act according to your proper duty.

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 3.33 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.

4

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 3 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 3.34Act according to your proper dutyBG 3.35Act according to your proper dutyBG 2.47Responsibility without ownership of outcomes

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

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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.