[Home]

Bhagavad Gita

Translation by His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad

Chapter Three KARMA YOGA Verses 1 to 4

arjuna uvaca jyayasi cet karmanas te mata buddhir janardana tat kim karmani ghore mam niyojayasi kesava	Arjuna said: O Janardana, O Kesava, why do You want to engage me in this ghastly warfare, if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work?
vyamisreneva vakyena buddhim mohayasiva me tad ekam vada niscitya yena sreyo 'ham apnuyam	My intelligence is bewildered by Your equivocal instructions. Therefore, please tell me decisively which will be most beneficial for me.
sri-bhagavan uvaca loke 'smin dvi-vidha nistha pura prokta mayanagha jnana-yogena sankhyanam karma-yogena yoginam	The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who try to realize the self. Some are inclined to understand it by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others by devotional service.
na karmanam anarambhan naiskarmyam puruso 'snute na ca sannyasanad eva siddhim samadhigacchati	Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection.