Bhagavad Gita 18.23
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 23 of 78
नियतं सङ्गरहितम् अरागद्वेषतः कृतम् । अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत् तत् सात्त्विकम् उच्यते ॥
niyataṃ saṅga-rahitam arāga-dveṣataḥ kṛtam | aphalaprepsunā karma yat tat sāttvikam ucyate ||
Sāttvic karma: prescribed, attachment-free, without rāga-dveṣa, by one not seeking fruit.
Word by word (3)
- niyataṃ saṅga-rahitam arāga-dveṣataḥ kṛtam
- — prescribed/obligatory (niyatam = fixed/ordained), free from attachment (saṅga-rahitam = attachment-free), done without love and hatred (arāga-dveṣataḥ = without rāga and dveṣa) — three qualifying conditions for sāttvic karma
- aphalaprepsunā karma yat tat sāttvikam ucyate
- — by one not desirous of fruit (aphalaprepsunā = a + phala + prepsuna = non-fruit-desirer), whatever action (yat karma) — that (tat) is said/called (ucyate) sāttvic (sāttvikaṃ)
- arāga-dveṣataḥ
- — without rāga (attraction/love) and dveṣa (aversion/hatred) — the emotional neutrality of sāttvic karma; not cold or mechanical, but genuinely free from the push-pull of rāga-dveṣa that distorts action
Action that is prescribed, free from attachment, performed without love or hatred, by one who does not desire fruit — that is said to be sāttvic.
A modern analogy
Sāttvic karma is the firefighter who runs into the burning building without personal heroism (no rāga for glory) and without reluctance (no dveṣa for danger) — simply because this is what must be done (niyatam). No fruit-desire, no attachment to the outcome of the rescue. Pure duty in action.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
An action which is ordained, which is free from attachment, which is done without love or hatred by one not desirous of the fruit, that action is declared to be Sattvic. [1]
MISSING from index. [4]
That action which is prescribed, which is free from attachment, which is performed without love and hatred by one who does not desire fruit from it, is said to be of the quality of goodness. [9]
The action which is prescribed by the scriptures, free from attachment, performed without desires and aversion, by one who longs not for its fruit, is said to be of the quality of goodness. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Who acts in duty without depending on fruit — that one is the true sannyāsī and yogī, not the fireless or the inactive.
Sāttvic tyāga: niyata karma done ONLY because 'this must be done,' having abandoned attachment and fruit.
Sāttvic yajña: performed as ordained, without fruit-desire, with the conviction 'this must be done.'
Some say all karma is faulty and should be abandoned; others say yajña-dāna-tapas must not be abandoned.
Hear My definitive word on tyāga, O best of Bharatas — tyāga has been declared three-fold, O tiger among men.
Even yajña-dāna-tapas must be performed having abandoned attachment and fruits — My settled, highest opinion.
Verse 23 of 78 · back to Chapter 18