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Chapter 3 · Verse 17 · Karma Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 3.17

serene Self & Identity Moksha & Liberation Karma & Action

Sanskrit

यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः। आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते।।3.17।।

Transliteration

yas tvātma-ratir eva syād ātma-tṛiptaśh cha mānavaḥ ātmanyeva cha santuṣhṭas tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate

Word by Word

yaḥ who
tu but
ātma-ratiḥ rejoice in the self
eva certainly
syāt is
ātma-tṛiptaḥ self-satisfied
cha and
mānavaḥ human being
ātmani in the self
eva certainly
cha and
santuṣhṭaḥ satisfied
tasya his
kāryam duty
na not
vidyate exist
Simplified Perspective

When a human being is absorbed in the joy of the Self alone—satisfied within, needing nothing from the world—there arises a profound freedom where action becomes purposeless because the actor has dissolved into pure being. This is not laziness or withdrawal, but the natural completion of the spiritual journey where the restless seeking finally rests.

For us today, this means discovering that our frantic doing often masks a hunger for something the world cannot give—and that moment of inner satisfaction is where true freedom begins.

Listen

Bhagavad Gita 3.17 — BG 3.17

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

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