2.47
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana
mā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stvakarmaṇi
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is speaking.
The verse
Your right is to the action alone, never to the fruits; do not become one whose motive is the fruit of the action, and do not let your clinging be to not acting.
नेपालीमा
तिम्रो अधिकार कर्ममा मात्र हो, फलमा कहिल्यै होइन। कर्मको फल उद्देश्य भएको नबन्नू, र नगर्नुमा तिम्रो आसक्ति नहोस्।
Where it sits
This is the buddhi in yoga that 2.39 promised: the fight in front of him is not cancelled, and the claim on what the fight pays is cancelled. Sitting down, where 1.47 left him, is named here as akarmaṇi (अकर्मणि), a place his clinging must not occupy.
Split: कर्मणि + एव + अधिकारः + ते + मा + फलेषु + कदाचन + मा + कर्म-फल-हेतुः + भूः + मा + ते + सङ्गः + अस्तु + अकर्मणि
karmaṇi + eva + adhikāraḥ + te + mā + phaleṣu + kadācana + mā + karma-phala-hetuḥ + bhūḥ + mā + te + saṅgaḥ + astu + akarmaṇi
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| कर्मणि | karmaṇi | locative of karman (कर्मन्) | in the action. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | alone, only. |
| अधिकारः | adhikāraḥ | nominative | right, claim. |
| ते | te | genitive enclitic | your. |
| मा | mā | prohibitive | do not. Not the noun "mother," and not the pronoun "me." |
| फलेषु | phaleṣu | locative plural | in the fruits. |
| कदाचन | kadācana | indeclinable | ever. With mā (मा), never. |
| मा | mā | prohibitive | do not. |
| कर्म-फल-हेतुः | karma-phala-hetuḥ | nominative | one whose motive is the fruit of action. |
| भूः | bhūḥ | injunctive, 2nd singular of bhū (भू) | be. |
| मा | mā | prohibitive | do not. |
| ते | te | genitive enclitic | your. |
| सङ्गः | saṅgaḥ | nominative | attachment, clinging. |
| अस्तु | astu | imperative, 3rd singular of as (अस्) | let it be. |
| अकर्मणि | akarmaṇi | locative | in inaction, in not acting. |
The phrases
karmaṇi eva adhikāraḥ te (कर्मणि एव अधिकारः ते) is the grant. Your right is in the action, and eva (एव) holds it there. कर्मणि + एव karmaṇi + eva is recited karmaṇy eva (कर्मण्येव), because इ + ए i + e becomes ye (ये). Then एव + अधिकारः eva + adhikāraḥ is evādhikāraḥ (एवाधिकारः). The ḥ (ः) before te (ते) becomes s (स्): adhikāras te (अधिकारस्ते).
mā phaleṣu kadācana (मा फलेषु कदाचन) is the same sentence with the noun left out. Never in the fruits. The adhikāraḥ (अधिकारः) of the first quarter is what mā (मा) is refusing. The right does not sit in the fruit.
मा कर्मफलहेतुः भूः mā karmaphalahetur bhūḥ is the second prohibition, and this one has its verb. Do not become a man whose motive is the fruit. hetuḥ (हेतुः) before the voiced bh (भ्) is recited hetur (हेतुर्), and bhūḥ (भूः) before m (म्) is recited bhūr (भूर्).
mā te saṅgaḥ astu akarmaṇi (मा ते सङ्गः अस्तु अकर्मणि) is the third. Do not let your attachment be to not acting. Refusing the fruit is not the same as refusing the act. सङ्गः + अस्तु saṅgaḥ + astu is saṅgo 'stu (सङ्गोऽस्तु). अस्तु + अकर्मणि astu + akarmaṇi is astvakarmaṇi (अस्त्वकर्मणि), because उ + अ u + a becomes व v.
Sanskrit in this line
mā (मा) prohibits, and the verb it likes is the injunctive, an aorist with the past-time a- (अ-) left off. bhūḥ (भूः) is that form of bhū (भू), second person singular: "be," with no "you were." मा कर्मफलहेतुः भूः mā karmaphalahetur bhūḥ is "do not become the fruit-motive man." The third mā (मा) uses astu (अस्तु), the ordinary imperative, "let it not be." Both are prohibition. The injunctive is the one to learn here, because bhūḥ (भूः) will not look like a verb if you only know bhava (भव).
Say it back
Where the right sits, where it does not sit, then the two things he must not become. If adhikāraḥ (अधिकारः) moves onto the fruit, stay here.