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Chapter 5 · Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness · 29 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 5 · Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness
5.115.13

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 5.12

Detached action performed in devotion

युक्त: कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्‍नोति नैष्ठिकीम् ।

अयुक्त: कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते ॥ १२ ॥

yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā

śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm

ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa

phale sakto nibadhyate

Translation

The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.

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.

Peace Through Devotion to Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1A steadily devoted soul offers all results to Kṛṣṇa and finds pure peace; greed for results brings entanglement.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that one attached to Kṛṣṇa, working only for Him, is liberated and free from anxiety about results.
  3. 3Work for Kṛṣṇa and offer Him the results, rather than seeking profit for your own sense pleasure.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 5, Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness: detached action performed in devotion.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Act dutifully without attachment to fruits.

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: karma, sva-dharma.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 5.12 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.

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The story behind it

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

All stories for chapter 5 ›
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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 5.2Detached action performed in devotionBG 5.3Detached action performed in devotionBG 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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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.