Shloka 49
कर्मयोग–ज्ञानयज्ञ–अवतारोपदेश
Karma-Yoga, Jñāna-Yajña, and Avatāra Instruction
सम्बन्ध-- इस प्रकार कर्मयोगकी प्रक्रिया बतलाकर अब सकामभावकी निन््दा और समभावरूप बुद्धियोगका महत्त्व प्रकट करते हुए भगवान् अर्जुनिको उसका आश्रय लेनेके लिये आज्ञा देते हैं-- दूरेण हाावरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद््र धनंजय । बुद्धो शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणा: फलहेतव:
dūreṇa hy avaraṁ karma buddhiyogād dhanañjaya | buddhau śaraṇam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phalahetavaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Having explained the discipline of action, the Lord now censures action driven by desire and reveals the worth of equanimity-based wisdom. “O Dhanañjaya, action performed for selfish ends is far inferior to the Yoga of understanding. Therefore seek refuge in steady, even-minded intelligence; for those who act merely for the sake of results are pitiable, bound to gain and loss.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire-driven action aimed at personal gain is spiritually inferior to buddhi-yoga—acting with steady understanding and equanimity. One should take refuge in even-minded intelligence rather than be ruled by the pursuit of results.
Sanjaya reports Krishna’s instruction to Arjuna on the battlefield: after outlining karma-yoga, Krishna urges Arjuna to adopt buddhi-yoga (equanimity and right understanding), warning that fixation on outcomes makes one ‘kṛpaṇa’—pitiable and bound by success and failure.