Chapter 3, Verse 30
मयि सर्वाणि कर्माणि संन्यस्याध्यात्मचेतसा | निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः ||३-३०||
mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi saṃnyasyādhyātmacetasā . nirāśīrnirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigatajvaraḥ ||3-30||
Meaning
3.30 Renouncing all actions in Me, with the mind centred in the Self, free from hope and egoism, and from (mental) fever, do thou fight.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna gathers the whole teaching into a single, powerful instruction. Surrender all your actions to Me, fix the mind on the Self, become nirashih (free from craving for results), nirmama (free from the sense of 'mine'), vigata-jvara (free from the fever of anxiety) — and then act, then fight.
This is the crown of karma-yoga: action offered to the Divine in complete inner surrender. The 'mental fever' Krishna names is the feverish agitation of desire, possessiveness, and worry that poisons our work and our peace. By dedicating every deed to the Supreme and releasing the ego's grip on outcomes, one acts with calm clarity even in the most demanding circumstances — even on a battlefield. Here the answer to Arjuna's opening doubt is complete: he need not choose between spirituality and duty. Offer the duty to God, and the duty itself becomes liberation.
💡 Key Takeaway
Offer your actions to the Divine, release craving and anxiety, and you can act decisively even under pressure with an untroubled heart.
Related Verses
अर्जुन उवाच | ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन | तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ||३-१||
arjuna uvāca . jyāyasī cetkarmaṇaste matā buddhirjanārdana . tatkiṃ karmaṇi ghore māṃ niyojayasi keśava ||3-1||
3.1 Arjuna said If Thou thinkest that knowledge is superior to action, O Krishna, why then, O Kesava, dost Thou ask me to engage in this terrible action?
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् | कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ||३-५||
na hi kaścitkṣaṇamapi jātu tiṣṭhatyakarmakṛt . kāryate hyavaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛtijairguṇaiḥ ||3-5||
3.5 Verily none can ever remain for even a moment without performing action; for everyone is made to act helplessly indeed by the alities born of Nature.
यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन | कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगमसक्तः स विशिष्यते ||३-७||
yastvindriyāṇi manasā niyamyārabhate.arjuna . karmendriyaiḥ karmayogamasaktaḥ sa viśiṣyate ||3-7||
3.7 But whosoever, controlling the senses by the mind, O Arjuna, engages himself in Karma Yoga with the organs of action, without attachment, he excels.