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Chapter 4 · Transcendental Knowledge · 42 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 4 · Transcendental Knowledge
4.114.13

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 4.12

Action without fruitive bondage

काङ्क्षन्तः कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवता ।

क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा ॥ १२ ॥

kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ

yajanta iha devatāḥ

kṣipraṁ hi mānuṣe loke

siddhir bhavati karma-jā

Translation

Men in this world desire success in fruitive activities, and therefore they worship the demigods. Quickly, of course, men get results from fruitive work in this world.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

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

Quick Results Are Temporary

  1. 1People worship demigods because they want success in work for material rewards, and they get results quickly.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that demigods serve under Kṛṣṇa, the one Supreme God. Their gifts are material and temporary.
  3. 3Seek Kṛṣṇa consciousness rather than temporary rewards, for it offers a permanent solution to material suffering.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 4, Transcendental Knowledge: action without fruitive bondage.

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 4.12 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

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 4.13Action without fruitive bondageBG 4.14Action without fruitive bondageBG 2.47Responsibility without ownership of outcomesBG 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 4.12 — 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.