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Chapter 12 · Verse 10 · Bhakti Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 12.10

surrendering Bhakti & Devotion Karma & Action Attachment & Letting Go

Sanskrit

अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव।मदर्थमपि कर्माणि कुर्वन् सिद्धिमवाप्स्यसि।।12.10।।

Transliteration

abhyāse ’py asamartho ’si mat-karma-paramo bhava mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi

Word by Word

abhyāse in practice
api if
asamarthaḥ unable
asi you
mat-karma paramaḥ devotedly work for me
bhava be
mat-artham for my sake
api also
karmāṇi work
kurvan performing
siddhim perfection
avāpsyasi you shall achieve
Simplified Perspective

When the mind falters and discipline feels impossible, Krishna offers a radical shift: stop performing for yourself, and perform for Me. This is the heart of bhakti—not striving to perfect yourself through effort, but offering imperfect action into the hands of the Divine.

When you work not for personal achievement but as an offering to the Infinite, the burden of perfection dissolves, and grace flows through your ordinary deeds. Today, this means releasing the exhaustion of self-improvement and instead asking: what would change if I worked, served, and acted as an offering to something larger than my own success?

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Bhagavad Gita 12.10 — BG 12.10

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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