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Chapter 3 · Verse 20 · Karma Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 3.20

empowering Karma & Action Dharma & Duty Moksha & Liberation

Sanskrit

कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः। लोकसंग्रहमेवापि संपश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि।।3.20।।

Transliteration

karmaṇaiva hi sansiddhim āsthitā janakādayaḥ loka-saṅgraham evāpi sampaśhyan kartum arhasi

Word by Word

karmaṇā by the performance of prescribed duties
eva only
hi certainly
sansiddhim perfection
āsthitāḥ attained
janaka-ādayaḥ King Janak and other kings
loka-saṅgraham for the welfare of the masses
eva api only
sampaśhyan considering
kartum to perform
arhasi you should
Simplified Perspective

Krishna reveals here the secret that perfection flows not from renunciation of work, but from work itself—King Janaka and the ancients reached the highest through action, not escape. When you perform duty with the welfare of all beings as your altar, your hands become instruments of the Divine, and the doer dissolves into the doing.

This teaching invites you today to stop waiting for perfect conditions and begin serving your corner of the world with full presence, knowing that right action performed with love is itself the gateway to freedom.

Listen

Bhagavad Gita 3.20 — BG 3.20

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

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