5.12 Peace, or being bound Krishna speaks
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम्
अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते
yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā śhāntim āpnoti naiṣhṭhikīm
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate
One who is joined, having given up the fruit of action, reaches lasting peace. One who is not joined, driven by desire and attached to the fruit, is bound.
Explanation
Two outcomes from the same activity.
Give up the fruit and reach lasting peace; stay attached to it and be bound. The actions in both halves are identical.
This is the whole of chapter 2's instruction restated in one line, and it is worth noticing how little the Gita's core ever changes. What accumulates around it is reasons, not revisions.
Word by word
- yuktaḥ
- one who is united in consciousness with God
- karma-phalam
- the results of all activities
- tyaktvā
- giving up
- śhāntim
- peace
- āpnoti
- attains
- naiṣhṭhikīm
- everlasting
- ayuktaḥ
- one who is not united with God in consciousness
- kāma-kāreṇa
- impelled by desires
- phale
- in the result
- saktaḥ
- attached
- nibadhyate
- becomes entangled
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