Peace belongs to the one who releases fruit-attachment.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम् |अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते ||५-१२||
yuktaḥ karmaphalaṃ tyaktvā śāntimāpnoti naiṣṭhikīm . ayuktaḥ kāmakāreṇa phale sakto nibadhyate ||5-12||
Use this verse when outcome anxiety rises.
Meaning
The disciplined one renounces the fruit of action and attains lasting peace. The undisciplined, driven by desire and attached to results, becomes bound.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Result-attachment creates bondage; result-renunciation brings peace.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
This verse shows the psychological difference between two workers. Both may act, but one is peaceful because they release the fruit, while the other is bound because desire owns the mind. This is highly relevant for exams, startups, social media, sales, relationships, and career growth.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna sets the two ways of living side by side. The yukta — the one harmonized in yoga — relinquishes attachment to the fruits of action (karma-phalam tyaktva) and so gains naishthikim shantim, a peace that is steady and unshakable. The ayukta — the scattered, disunited person — acts driven by desire (kama-kara), clings to outcomes, and is therefore bound.
The contrast is exact and instructive. The very same action can either liberate or imprison; what makes the difference is the inner relationship to results. Crave the fruit, and even success leaves you anxious, hungry for more, chained to the next outcome.
Release the fruit, and a deep tranquility settles in regardless of how things turn out. Peace, the Gita insists, is not won by controlling outcomes but by releasing our grip on them.
In daily life
Give full effort, but do not hand your peace to the outcome.
A student who studies sincerely but does not panic about rank can perform with greater calm.
Try this today
Write the effort you control and the result you release.
I release the result and receive peace.Reflect
Which result has taken control of my peace?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘कर्मफलम् त्यक्त्वा’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on desire, in other chapters
- Verse 4.19Act without selfish intent, and the fire of wisdom burns away action's power to bind — this is the mark of a true sage.
- Verse 7.11Strength and desire are sacred when freed from greed and aligned with what is right — refine your longings rather than crush them.
- Verse 2.66Without discipline there is no wisdom, without wisdom no contemplation, without contemplation no peace, and without peace happiness is impossible.
- Verse 6.7Inner peace is steady when praise and blame, comfort and discomfort, no longer disturb the calm at your center.
Swipe left for 5.13 · The body is a city; the Self is the resident witness.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 5.12
Who says Bhagavad Gita 5.12, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 5.12, in Chapter 5, Karma Sannyas Yoga (Karma Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 5.12 mean?
The disciplined one renounces the fruit of action and attains lasting peace. The undisciplined, driven by desire and attached to results, becomes bound. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 5.12 for daily life?
Give full effort, but do not hand your peace to the outcome. A student who studies sincerely but does not panic about rank can perform with greater calm.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 5.12 mean?
युक्तः — the harmonized / united one; कर्मफलम् त्यक्त्वा — abandoning the fruit of action; शान्तिम् आप्नोति — attains peace; नैष्ठिकीम् — lasting / steadfast; अयुक्तः — the unsteady / disunited one.
Where does verse 5.12 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 12 of 29 in Chapter 5, Karma Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 5.13.