Bhagavad Gita 5.11
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 11 of 29
कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि। योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वात्मशुद्धये॥५-११॥
kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalaiḥ indriyair api | yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṃ tyaktvātma-śuddhaye || 5.11 ||
Yogis act with body, mind, intellect, and bare senses — abandoning attachment — solely for self-purification.
Word by word (7)
- kāyena
- — with the body
- manasā
- — with the mind
- buddhyā
- — with the intellect
- kevalaiḥ indriyaiḥ api
- — even with bare/mere senses alone
- yoginaḥ
- — yogis / those on the yoga path
- saṅgam tyaktvā
- — having abandoned attachment
- ātma-śuddhaye
- — for self-purification / for purification of the Self
Yogis perform their actions using every instrument available — body, mind, intellect, and even the bare senses — but they do all of this having abandoned attachment. The purpose is not external gain: it is ātma-śuddhi — purification of the self.
A modern analogy
An athlete who trains not for the trophy but because the training itself builds character and skill. Every practice session is full-effort, full-presence — but the ego-driven craving for the external prize has been released. The work itself purifies.
What it does NOT mean
This does not mean yogis act ineffectively or hold back. They use all instruments fully — body, mind, intellect, senses — kevalaiḥ ('merely', 'bare') suggests stripped of ego-attachment, not stripped of capability.
Take with you
- Ātma-śuddhaye is the key phrase: the purpose of yoga-action is self-purification, not external achievement. This reframes the entire meaning of work.
- Using all your instruments — body, mind, intellect, senses — while releasing attachment to outcomes is not contradiction but integration.
- Karma-yoga is not low-effort action. It is full-effort action with transformed motivation.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"Yogis perform action with body, mind, intellect, and even with mere senses alone — abandoning attachment — for the purification of the self." [1]
"Yogins, having abandoned attachment, perform actions only by the body, mind, understanding, and also by the senses, for the purification of the self." [4]
"Yogis, having abandoned attachment, perform actions only by the body, mind, understanding, and also by the senses — for self-purification." [5]
"Devotees, having given up attachment, perform works with the body, mind, understanding, and even by the senses, for the purification of the heart." [6]
"The Yogi, putting off desire, performs with body, sense, and mind and understanding — yea, with nothing more — acts purifying self." [7]
"The devotees, abandoning attachment, perform actions with the body, mind, understanding, and also with the senses, merely for self-purification." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Surrendering all actions to Brahman, abandoning attachment — like a lotus leaf, sin never clings.
Action done as an offering (yajna) does not bind. All other action creates bondage. Do your work as offering.
Action renounced through yoga, doubt cut by knowledge, self-possessed — actions cannot bind that person.
Sāttvic karma: prescribed, attachment-free, without rāga-dveṣa, by one not seeking fruit.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
Abandon all desires born of mental planning — without remainder — and restrain the senses completely, by the mind alone.
Verse 11 of 29 · back to Chapter 5