Result-seeking worship is common, but not the final goal.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
काङ्क्षन्तः कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवताः |क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा ||४-१२||
kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṃ siddhiṃ yajanta iha devatāḥ . kṣipraṃ hi mānuṣe loke siddhirbhavati karmajā ||4-12||
Use this verse when your prayer is focused only on results.
Meaning
Those desiring success in action worship the devas here, because success born of action comes quickly in the human world.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
People often seek quick results through action and worship.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna observes a common human tendency: people approach divine forces for specific success. This is not dismissed, but it is limited. The verse can be explained carefully: desire-based worship may bring results, but the Gita gradually guides the seeker from quick gains to deeper freedom. This is relevant to astrology, rituals, career prayers, and result-oriented spirituality.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna observes the common motivation of most worldly activity. People who crave quick results worship the devas — the various gods who govern aspects of nature and fortune — seeking material success. And indeed such success comes swiftly in the human world, for action does produce fruit. There is nothing condemned here; Krishna simply describes how desire-driven effort works.
Yet a subtle teaching lies beneath. Success born of action (karmajā siddhi) is real but limited — it is bound to time, change, and renewed craving. The verse gently contrasts this fast, finite reward with the imperishable liberation described earlier. Worldly attainment is easy and quick precisely because it is small. The greater fulfillment Krishna points toward asks for a different kind of effort, free of grasping for results.
In daily life
Seek success, but also seek wisdom, purity, and freedom.
A student may pray for exam success, but should also pray for discipline, calmness, and right effort.
Try this today
Add one deeper prayer to your practical wish.
I seek success with wisdom and purity.Reflect
Am I seeking only quick results or deeper growth too?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘काङ्क्षन्तः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on action, 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 7.20When desire narrows our vision, we chase gifts and forget the Giver — notice when devotion has shrunk to a means of getting.
- Verse 3.15Selfless action connects you to the divine source of all things — your work, offered rightly, becomes a form of worship.
- Verse 14.7Restless craving disguises itself as productivity — it is attachment to doing, not action itself, that binds you.
Swipe left for 4.13 · Role should be understood through qualities, actions, and service, not superiority.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 4.12
Who says Bhagavad Gita 4.12, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 4.12, in Chapter 4, Jnana Karma Sannyas Yoga (Jnana Karma Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 4.12 mean?
Those desiring success in action worship the devas here, because success born of action comes quickly in the human world. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 4.12 for daily life?
Seek success, but also seek wisdom, purity, and freedom. A student may pray for exam success, but should also pray for discipline, calmness, and right effort.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 4.12 mean?
काङ्क्षन्तः — longing for, desiring; कर्मणाम् सिद्धिम् — success in actions; यजन्ते इह देवताः — sacrifice here to the gods; क्षिप्रम् — quickly; हि — indeed.
Where does verse 4.12 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 12 of 42 in Chapter 4, Jnana Karma Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 4.13.