Shloka 18.45
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः |स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु ||१८-४५||
sve sve karmaṇyabhirataḥ saṃsiddhiṃ labhate naraḥ . svakarmanirataḥ siddhiṃ yathā vindati tacchṛṇu ||18-45||
Meaning
He who dedicates his actions to the Spirit, without any personal attachment to them, he is no more tainted by sin than the water lily is wetted by water.
Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.
Word-by-word meaning
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Explanation
Krishna states a liberating principle: by devoted engagement in one's own work, sve sve karmani, any person attains samsiddhi, the highest perfection. The path to spiritual fulfillment runs not through some special vocation but through wholehearted commitment to the duty one already has.
This democratizes the spiritual quest entirely. The farmer, the soldier, the merchant, and the servant all reach the same goal by pouring devotion into their natural work. Krishna promises to explain precisely how ordinary labor becomes a means to perfection — a teaching that transforms every honest job into a form of worship and every duty into a doorway to the divine.
In daily life
Wholehearted devotion to your own rightful work is itself a complete path to spiritual perfection.
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What does ‘सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on perfection, in other chapters
- Verse 3.4Walking away from your duties does not free you — freedom is found by acting without attachment, not by avoiding action.
- Verse 7.3To even seek the highest truth is rare; to know it in essence, rarer still — so treasure the longing when it stirs in you.
- Verse 8.15Worldly life, for all its pleasures, is fleeting and tinged with sorrow; the soul's true freedom lies beyond the wheel of rebirth.
- Verse 2.31Identify the duty that arises from your deepest nature and role, then perform it fully — hesitation at that threshold is a form of self-betrayal.
Swipe left for 18.46 · Offer your everyday work as worship to the Divine, and that work itself becomes your path to perfection.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.45
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.45, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.45, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.45 mean?
He who dedicates his actions to the Spirit, without any personal attachment to them, he is no more tainted by sin than the water lily is wetted by water. (Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.45 for daily life?
Wholehearted devotion to your own rightful work is itself a complete path to spiritual perfection.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.45 mean?
स्वे स्वे कर्मणि — in his own respective duty; अभिरतः — devoted / delighting; संसिद्धिं लभते नरः — a person attains perfection; स्वकर्मनिरतः — engaged in his own duty; सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति — how one attains perfection.
Where does verse 18.45 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 45 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.46.