3.20 Janaka reached it by acting Krishna speaks
कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः
लोकसंग्रहमेवापि संपश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि
karmaṇaiva hi sansiddhim āsthitā janakādayaḥ
loka-saṅgraham evāpi sampaśhyan kartum arhasi
It was by action alone that Janaka and others before him reached perfection. So act, if only for the sake of the world.
Explanation
Janaka, and the Gita names a king.
It was by action alone that Janaka and others before him reached perfection — not away from it.
This is the chapter's one appeal to precedent, and the precedent is a ruler, not a recluse. Then: so act, if only for the sake of the world.
Going further
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
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King Janaka reached perfection through action, not away from it. The Gita names a ruler, not a recluse.
This is the chapter quietly refusing the assumption that the spiritual life runs opposite to the working one. Janaka had a kingdom to administer. The text treats that as the arena, not the obstacle.