Do duty without attachment to fruit.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च |कर्तव्यानीति मे पार्थ निश्चितं मतमुत्तमम् ||१८-६||
etānyapi tu karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalāni ca . kartavyānīti me pārtha niścitaṃ matamuttamam ||18-6||
Use this verse as a result-release practice.
Meaning
Even these actions should be performed while giving up attachment and their fruits. This, O Partha, is My firm and highest view.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Perform sacred duties without attachment or fruit-seeking.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna gives the balanced solution: do not abandon purifying actions, but perform them without clinging. This is the practical heart of tyaga.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna refines his teaching with a crucial qualifier. Even the purifying acts — sacrifice, charity, austerity — must be performed sanga tyaktva, free from attachment, and without craving their rewards. Otherwise even good deeds bind the soul through the ego's pride and expectation.
This is the heart of karma yoga compressed into a single line. The action stays; only the clinging departs. Krishna marks this as his nishchitam matam uttamam — his settled, supreme conviction — signaling that detached performance of duty is not one option among many but the very crown of his entire teaching.
In daily life
Continue right action, release ownership and result anxiety.
A person can donate, pray, or work sincerely without waiting for appreciation, blessing, or visible payoff.
Try this today
Before one duty, say: I do this and release the fruit.
I perform duty without clinging.Reflect
Can I do the right action and release the result?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘इति मे पार्थ’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on karma yoga, in other chapters
- Verse 2.47Give your best to every action, but release your grip on the results — this is the formula for both excellence and inner peace.
- Verse 3.19Do what must be done, fully and without clinging to results — selfless action itself can lead you to the highest realization.
- Verse 6.1Do your duty wholeheartedly while letting go of attachment to its results — that, not withdrawal from work, is real renunciation.
- Verse 11.32We are not the ultimate authors of life and death; freed from that illusion, we can act from duty, not guilt.
Swipe left for 18.7 · Confused duty-avoidance is tamasic.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.6
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.6, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.6, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.6 mean?
Even these actions should be performed while giving up attachment and their fruits. This, O Partha, is My firm and highest view. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.6 for daily life?
Continue right action, release ownership and result anxiety. A person can donate, pray, or work sincerely without waiting for appreciation, blessing, or visible payoff.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.6 mean?
एतानि अपि तु — but even these; कर्माणि — actions; सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा — abandoning attachment; फलानि च — and the fruits; कर्तव्यानि — should be performed.
Where does verse 18.6 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 6 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.7.