पुरुषाक्षौहिणीनां त्वं क्षयेणानुभवात्मना । ब्रह्मणा बृंहितं युद्धं ब्रह्म ब्रह्ममयं कुरु
As the destruction of the armies of men is experienced by you, make the battle, which is magnified by Brahman, into a battle of Brahman, composed of Brahman alone.
असंविदन् सुखं दुःखं लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ । युद्धब्रह्मैकतां गच्छ ब्रह्मादिस्तम्भ भारत
Without awareness, pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat—attain unity with the battle that is Brahman, O Bharata, from Brahma down to a blade of grass.
लाभालाभसमो भूत्वा भूत्वा नूनं नकिञ्चन । जडो वात इव स्पन्दी प्रसृतं कार्यम् आचर
Be equal in gain and loss, becoming truly free of possessions; act, like the wind moves, without attachment, carrying out what is to be done.
यत् करोषि यद् अश्नासि यज् जुहोषि ददासि यत् । यत् करिष्यसि कौन्तेय तद् आत्मेति स्थिरो भव
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give, whatever you undertake, O Kaunteya, do it with the thought: 'This is the Self,' and remain steady.
यन्मयो यो भवत्य् अन्तस् स तद् आप्नोत्य् असंशयम् । ब्रह्मसत्यम् अवाप्तुं त्वं ब्रह्मसत्यमयो भव
Whatever one is filled with within, that he surely attains; to realize the truth of Brahman, become filled with the truth of Brahman.
अनपेक्ष्य फलं ब्रह्म भूत्वा ब्रह्मेति भावितम् । क्रियते केवलं कर्म ब्रह्मज्ञेन यथागतम्
Without seeking the result, having become Brahman and contemplating 'I am Brahman,' action is performed simply as it comes, by one who knows Brahman.
कर्मण्य् अकर्म यः पश्यत्य् अकर्मणि च कर्म यः । स बुद्धिमान् मनुष्येषु स चोक्तस् सर्वकर्मकृत्
He who sees action in inaction and inaction in action, he is wise among men, and is said to be the doer of all actions.
मा कर्मफलहेतुर् भूर् मा ते सङ्गो ऽस्त्व् अकर्मणि । योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय
Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction; established in yoga, perform actions, abandoning attachment, O Dhananjaya.
कर्मासक्तिम् अनाश्रित्य तथा नाश्रित्य मूढताम् । नैष्कर्म्यम् अप्य् अनाश्रित्य समस् तिष्ठ यथास्थितम्
Without relying on attachment to action, nor on dullness, nor even on the idea of non-action, remain equal, as you are, without dependence.
त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः । कर्मण्य् अभिप्रवृत्तो ऽपि नैव किञ्चित् करोति सः
Having abandoned attachment to the fruits of action, always content and independent, even when engaged in action, he does nothing at all.
आसक्तिम् आहुः कर्तृत्वम् अकर्तुर् अपि तद् भवेत् । मौर्ख्ये स्थिते हि मनसि तस्मान् मौर्ख्यं परित्यजेत्
Attachment is called doership; even in one who is not a doer, it may arise. When the mind remains in ignorance, therefore, one should abandon ignorance.
परं तज्ज्ञत्वम् आश्रित्य निरासक्तेर् महात्मनः । सर्वकर्मरतस्यापि कर्तृतोदेति न क्वचित्
Relying on that supreme knowledge, in the great soul who is free from attachment, even though engaged in all actions, the sense of doership never arises.
अकर्तृत्वाद् अभोक्तृत्वम् अभोक्तृत्वात् समैकता । समैकत्वाद् अनन्तत्वं ततो ब्रह्मत्वम् आततम्
From non-doership comes non-enjoyership; from non-enjoyership, oneness; from oneness, infinitude; and from that, the state of Brahman is attained.
नानाताम् अलम् उत्सृज्य परमात्मैकतां गतः । कुर्वन् कार्यम् अकार्यं च नैव कर्ता त्वम् अर्जुन
Having completely abandoned diversity and attained the oneness of the supreme Self, whether performing action or inaction, you are not the doer, O Arjuna.
यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः । ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तम् आहुः पण्डितं बुधाः
He whose every undertaking is free from desire and intention, whose actions are burnt by the fire of knowledge—him the wise call a sage.
समस् सोम्यस् स्थिरस् स्वस्थश् शान्तस् सर्वार्थनिस्स्पृहः । यस् तिष्ठति स सुव्यग्रो ऽप्य् अलम् अव्यग्रतां गतः
He who is equal-minded, gentle, steady, self-composed, peaceful, and free from all desires—though he may appear greatly agitated, he is truly free from agitation.
निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् । यथाप्राप्तानुवर्ती च भव भूषितभूतलः
Be free from duality, established in constant purity, unconcerned with gain and security, self-possessed, and following what comes as it comes, O one who adorns the earth.
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् । इन्द्रियार्थान् विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारस् स उच्यते
He who restrains the organs of action and sits remembering sense objects in his mind, with a deluded self—he is called a hypocrite.
यस् त्व् इन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभते ऽर्जुन । कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगम् असक्तस् स विशिष्यते
But he who, restraining the senses with the mind, undertakes the yoga of action with the organs of action, unattached, O Arjuna, excels.
आपूर्यमाणं त्व् अचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रम् आपः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत् कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिम् आप्नोति न कामकामी
Just as waters enter the ocean, which is ever being filled yet remains unmoved, so too, all desires enter into one who is at peace; not so for the one who longs for desires.
न कुर्याद् भोगसन्त्यागं न कुर्याद् भोगभावनम् । स्थातव्यं सुसमेनैव यथाप्राप्तानुवर्तिना
One should neither abandon enjoyments nor cultivate attachment to them; rather, one should remain balanced, following what comes as it arises.
अनात्मन्य् आत्मतां देहे मा भावय भवात्मनि । आत्मन्य् एवात्मतां सत्ये भावयाभावरूपिणि
Do not imagine selfhood in what is not the Self, in the body; instead, realize true selfhood in the Self alone, which is reality, the very form of absence.
देहनाशे महाबाहो न किञ्चिद् अपि नश्यति । आत्मनाशे हि नाशस् स्यान् न चात्मा नश्यति क्वचित्
O mighty-armed, when the body perishes, nothing at all is lost; only with the loss of the Self would there be destruction, but the Self is never destroyed anywhere.
अविनाशम् अनाद्यन्तम् आत्मानम् अजरं विदुः । नश्यत्य् आत्मेति दुर्बोधो मा तवास्त्व् अतिदुःखदः
The Self is known to be imperishable, without beginning or end, and ageless; the notion that the Self perishes is hard to grasp—let it not be yours, for it brings great sorrow.
न कदाचन नश्यन्ति विदितात्मान उत्तमाः । नश्यन्त्य् अविदितात्मानो ह्य् अनात्मन्य् आत्ममानिनः
Those who have realized the Self never perish; but those who have not, who imagine selfhood in what is not the Self, indeed perish.
एवं चेत् तज् जगन्नाथ मूढानाम् अपि मानद । देहनाशे समुत्पन्ने मन्ये नष्टं न किञ्चन
If this is so, O Lord of the world, bestower of honor even to the deluded, then even when the body perishes, I think nothing at all is lost.
एवम् एव महाबाहो न किञ्चिन् नश्यति क्वचित् । आत्मैवास्त्य् अविनाशात्मा किं तस्य क्व विनश्यति
In this way, O mighty-armed one, nothing is ever destroyed anywhere; only the Self exists, the indestructible Self—how and where could it ever perish?
इदं नष्टम् इदं युक्तम् इति मोहाद् भ्रमाद् ऋते । अन्यत् तथा न पश्यामि वन्ध्यास्त्रीतनयं यथा
This is lost, this is fitting—such notions arise only from delusion and error; otherwise, I do not see anything like that, just as a barren woman does not have a son.
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः । उभयोर् अपि दृष्टो ऽन्तस् त्व् अनयोस् तत्त्वदर्शिभिः
There is no existence in what is unreal, nor is there non-existence in what is real; the end of both has been observed by those who see the truth.
अविनाशि तु तद् विद्धि येन सर्वम् इदं ततम् । विनाशम् अव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित् कर्तुम् अर्हति
Know that the indestructible is that by which all this is pervaded; no one is able to bring about the destruction of this imperishable.