Chapter 3 · Verse 8 · Karma Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 3.8
Sanskrit
नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः। शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः।।3.8।।
Transliteration
niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyo hyakarmaṇaḥ śharīra-yātrāpi cha te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ
In plain words
You are paralyzed right now—maybe by grief, maybe by not knowing who you are anymore, maybe by the weight of everything that's broken. You think stillness will heal you, but Krishna says: the only way through is to move, to act, even when you don't feel like it, even when you don't know the outcome. Your body needs you to breathe, to eat, to show up. The universe is not waiting for you to feel ready. Act anyway, and let that action itself become your healing.
Word by Word
Krishna cuts through Arjuna's paralysis with a truth as old as creation itself: the universe runs on action, not escape. Inaction is not peace—it is delusion pretending to be wisdom.
Even to maintain your body, you must act; even to breathe, the cosmos acts through you. When you perform your duty without clinging to its fruits, you transform every deed into worship, every moment into an offering at the altar of the Divine.
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 3.8 — BG 3.8
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