BG 3.9 — Karma-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 3.9Chapter 3 · Karma-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · Kaunteya · anuṣṭubh

यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः । तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर ॥

yajñārthātkarmaṇo'nyatra loko'yaṃ karmabandhanaḥ

tadarthaṃ karma kaunteya muktasaṅgaḥ samācara

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Work done as an offering to the Lord does not bind you, but any other action chains you to this world, so act for that purpose alone, free from attachment.

ekras · bhāṣya

Each commentator anchors yajna in the same Taittiriya shruti — yajno vai vishnuh. Yajna is Vishnu. Action performed for the sake of that — yajnartha-karma — is action offered to the Lord; only such action does not bind. Any other action, however virtuous it looks, leaves a karmic residue that has to be exhausted later.

Madhusudana addresses the mumukshu who has internalized the maxim karmana badhyate jantuh — the creature is bound by action — and concluded action should be abandoned. He confirms the logic: karma does bind. But he qualifies: only the kind of karma that is not yajnartha. Karma offered to Vishnu does not bind because the inner stance from which it is performed has changed. The doer has stopped being the purusha-with-sanga and has become the offering-channel. The closing instruction is the operational rule. Tad-artham karma kaunteya mukta-sangah samachara — for that purpose, perform action mukta-sanga, free from sanga. The two conditions are paired. Yajnartha — for the sake of the Lord — names the orientation. Mukta-sanga — free from sticky attachment — names the inner stance. Both must be present. The action becomes karmically clean only when both are.

Vallabha names the Samkhya interlocutor explicitly — those who argue that since karma binds, it should be abandoned — and rejects the argument for the qualified ritualist. The path is not through abandoning karma; the path is through redirecting its purpose.

Context

where

Chapter 3 · Karma-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna · vocative Kaunteya

preceded by — BG 3.8

Do your prescribed duty — action is better than inaction, for without it you cannot even keep your body alive.

What's going on

Work done as an offering to the Lord does not bind you, but any other action chains you to this world, so act for that purpose alone, free from attachment.

Sūtras through this verse (73)

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

2.72Old-age renunciation is off topic here.───→here3.9───→3.15He refutes by saying na ca.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

3.4Mere not-doing is not renunciation at all.───→here3.9───→5.13Lay down all acts in mind; sit at ease, body free.

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actbetween

3.8Even keeping the body alive requires action.───→here3.9───→6.40A fallen seeker still keeps the human birth.

show all 73

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

2.47Fruit-free action cannot bind───→here3.9───→3.30Offer all your acts

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

3.4Naishkarmya is not just non-doing───→here3.9───→5.13Nine-gated city, all karma laid down

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningbetween

3.5'Na hi kashchit kshanam api jatu tishthaty akarma-krit.' No one stays inactive e───→here3.9───→3.21'Yad yad acharati shreshthas tat tad evetaro janah.' Whatever the leader does, o

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

2.50Thumb. Kausalam. 'Yogah karmasu kausalam' is the line Gaurav opens the whole mne───→here3.9───→3.27Palm, kartala. Akartritva, non-doership. 'Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani s

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

2.22'Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya' — body as worn-out clothes. Sister verse to 2.13,───→here3.9───→3.27Karma pillar. The 'ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate' line is where Gaura

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidbetween

3.3'Loke'smin dvi-vidha nishtha pura prokta mayanagha, jnana-yogena samkhyanam karm───→here3.9───→5.4'Sankhya-yogau prithag balah pravadanti na panditah.' Only the immature say sank

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

3.3Two paths for two kinds — never combined.───→here3.9───→5.2Each path bears fruit by its own working.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

3.3Two populations, two distinct paths.───→here3.9───→5.6Renunciation is hard without yoga first.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

3.4Brāhmaṇas seek the Self by Veda, then by rite.───→here3.9───→4.13The four orders are the Puruṣa's own body.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

3.1Self in chapter two; sādhana opens here.───→here3.9───→4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

Citation as proof — śruti, smṛti, MB, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pañcarātrabetween

3.4Both śruti and smṛti held in support.───→here3.9───→3.15Citation closes: ity āgamāt.

JayatīrthaclassicalH

Pūrva-pakṣa explicit — nanu / iti cet / ity ata āhabetween

2.50Nanu opens, smṛti runs nine deep.───→here3.9───→3.17No-kartavya rival staged then answered.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

2.39Sāṅkhya-yoga literal, not external schools.───→here3.9───→3.15If literal works, figurative is idle.

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥbetween

2.68Supply marks the chapter-seal gap.───→here3.9───→3.15Iti viṣṇoḥ iti śeṣaḥ supplies referent.

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

Three groups of six: you, the Lord, the joiningbetween

3.1The whole map laid out at chapter three's door.───→here3.9───→5.1Two chapters settled action and knowing.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

3.3Arjuna's mixed question gets a sorted answer.───→here3.9───→5.1Not combined, not optional; distributed by fitness.

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landbetween

2.47The unready can only act, not yet know.───→here3.9───→3.30Even a seeker not-yet-pure offers, drops fruit-claim.

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingbetween

2.47Action offered, fruit-free, cannot bear bondage.───→here3.9───→3.30Offer all your acts; fight without fruit-claim.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here3.9───→4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runbetween

3.1The architecture ends in living-liberation, then bodily.───→here3.9───→6.46The yogi with mind-stilled stands above mere knowing.

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here3.9───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologyapproach

───→here3.9───→4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it wereapproach

───→here3.9───→4.6I appear as if born, never really, by māyā.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldapproach

───→here3.9───→3.20Janaka acted only to hold the world together.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here3.9───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsapproach

───→here3.9───→3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitapproach

───→here3.9───→4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here3.9───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

3.3Three classes, one niṣṭhā each.───→here3.9───→5.1Every clause tagged jñāna or karma.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

3.3Three classes, each its own niṣṭhā.───→here3.9───→5.1Two saṃnyāsas: fruit and means.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsbetween

3.1Buddhi-vyākulatva named the seed.───→here3.9───→5.1Recap-then-question becomes the rule.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

3.3Vaidika action sorted by life-stage rule.───→here3.9───→4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

3.4No mokṣa from mere non-starting.───→here3.9───→4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstbetween

3.1Chapter-1 verse opens with word-fit, then bīja.───→here3.9───→7.1Word-fit holds at the architectural seam.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here3.9───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionbetween

2.71The steady seer walks with no want, no mine.───→here3.9───→3.37One enemy alone: desire, only desire.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workbetween

2.47Even renouncing has three flavors.───→here3.9───→3.27The modes act, ego claims to do.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

2.33Refusal is not safe; it costs everything.───→here3.9───→3.35Your own flawed work beats another's perfect.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here3.9───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayapproach

───→here3.9───→4.11However they come, I meet them so.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerapproach

───→here3.9───→3.30Lay every act in Me; I move within.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugeapproach

───→here3.9───→4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here3.9───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here3.9───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsapproach

───→here3.9───→3.37The enemy is desire turning into anger.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursapproach

───→here3.9───→3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

3.3Two paths, named───→here3.9───→3.20Janaka, lokasangraha

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementbetween · other

2.63Anger to ruin───→here3.9───→3.37Kāma is the enemy

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedbetween

3.1Drop something inside the act, not the act.───→here3.9───→3.30Drop the fruit, the mine, the doership — keep the act.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

3.1Four-verse prelude frames renunciation.───→here3.9───→4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

2.11Vallabha quotes his own Nibandha at verse two.───→here3.9───→3.30The Nibandha is cited again on threefold drop.

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionapproach · v2

───→here3.9───→3.20Janaka, lokasangraha

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvaapproach · v2

───→here3.9───→3.27Modes act, ego claims

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlyapproach

───→here3.9───→4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractapproach

───→here3.9───→4.7When dharma weakens, the Lord descends to play.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here3.9───→

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)station

───→here3.9───→

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

3.1Arjuna's question resolves 2.49's hint.───→here3.9───→6.47Top-yogin clause — the chapter-7 hinge.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

3.3Two paths, one orientation toward Me.───→here3.9───→3.30Karma offered to the indweller becomes worship.

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)approach

───→here3.9───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerapproach

───→here3.9───→4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyaapproach

───→here3.9───→4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentapproach

───→here3.9───→3.30'Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi': read as antaryāmin.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionapproach

───→here3.9───→4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerbetween

3.1Knowing versus acting is the wrong cut.───→here3.9───→7.1Together they cover everything to be known.

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closebetween

2.20The soul is conscious but only as reflection.───→here3.9───→3.27Action is the modes'; the soul only seems to act.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsbetween

3.4If non-action freed, plants would already be free.───→here3.9───→3.20Even Janaka acted; the wise still do.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionapproach

───→here3.9───→4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departureapproach

───→here3.9───→4.1Teaching descends; the teacher does not move.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordapproach

───→here3.9───→4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.

Śabda · lemmas (23 unique · 29 occurrences)

कर्म·कर्मणः karman ×4 — action, deed, the law of action · nominative neuter singular noun / ablative neuter singular noun / compound / accusative neuter singular noun
कौन्तेय kaunteya — son of Kuntī (epithet of Arjuna) · vocative masculine singular noun · also at 1.27, 2.14, 2.37, 2.60, 3.39, 5.22 +18
समाचर sam-√ācar — to conduct, perform (sam- + ā- + √car) · present imperative 2nd person singular verb · also at 3.19, 3.23, 3.24, 3.26
सङ्गः saṅga — attachment, contact (= saṅga in earlier dict — alternate spelling) · nominative masculine singular noun

show all 23

अर्थ·अर्थात्·अर्थम् artha ×3 — meaning, purpose, wealth, goal · compound / ablative neuter singular noun / accusative masculine singular noun
तत्·तद् tad ×2 — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · nominative neuter singular noun / compound
यत् yad — which, who (relative pronoun) · accusative neuter singular noun
च ca — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
मन्यसे √man — to think, regard, consider (verbal root) · present indicative 2nd person singular verb · also at 2.19, 2.26, 11.4, 18.59
बन्ध bandha — binding, bondage (from √bandh) · compound
त्वात् tva — you-ness; abstract suffix making 'X-ness' from X · ablative neuter singular noun
न na — not (negation particle)
कर्तव्यम् kṛ — to do, make (verbal root) · nominative neuter singular gdv noun
इति iti — thus (quotative particle)
अपि api — also, even, although
असत् asat — non-being, untruth (a- + sat 'being', from √as) · nominative neuter singular noun
कथम् katham — how?
यज्ञ yajña — sacrifice, worship, ritual offering · compound
अन्यत्र anyatra — (an- + yatra: where)
लोकः loka — world, realm; people · nominative masculine singular noun
अयम् idam — this (proximal demonstrative) · nominative masculine singular noun
बन्धनः bandhana — binding, bondage (from √bandh) · nominative masculine singular noun
मुक्त √muc — to release, free (verbal root) · compound participle (compound member)

Praśna · so what (7)

01If yajña = Viṣṇu (all schools cite the same Śruti), why do the schools reach such different conclusions about what actions qualify as 'yajñārtha' — must it be a Vedic rite, or can earning a livelihood count?
02Madhva insists the jīva remains eternally distinct from Hari even in liberated service; Vallabha says Hari himself acts in prema-bhakti. Is liberation an asymptotic approach or a dissolution of agency, and what practical difference does it make for how one acts?

show all 7

03Śaṅkara's 'mukta-saṅga' is citta-śuddhi (inner purification) as a ladder to jñāna (knowledge), not a permanent mode. Rāmānuja's is permanent kainkarya (service). Does the verse's motive for detachment change the architecture of the spiritual path?
04Vallabha's criterion — 'if one understands the act as Bhagavān's līlā it does not bind' — places the binding or non-binding entirely in the buddhi (intellect/understanding). Does this mean ignorance is the only real bondage, and if so, what role does ritual action play at all?
05Rāmānuja's gloss extends yajñārtha to include the subsidiary material acts (procurement, preparation) that support yajña. Where does this expansion stop — can any secular work be redeemed by sufficiently pure intention?
06All six commentators agree that loka (world/people) is the class bound by non-yajña karma. Does 'this world' (loko'yam) imply that bondage is the statistical default for human beings, and liberation structurally rare — or is the verse an open invitation?
07Madhusūdana adds śraddhā (faith) as the qualifier that Śaṅkara omits. Is śraddhā a psychological supplement to detachment, or is it constitutive — can action be truly yajñārtha without it?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Before each professional task, pause and consciously re-dedicate the work to Īśvara — not as a ritual formula but as a genuine bhāvanā (mental reorientation) that severs the rope between output and ego. When the task ends, release the fruit completely: no rumination on whether it was praised or criticized. The work becomes karma-yoga as citta-śuddhi — the repeated letting-go trains the mind toward the steadiness required for jñāna-vicāra (inquiry into the nature of the self).

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Treat the entire workflow — from sourcing materials or preparing for a meeting to delivering the final output — as a chain of śeṣa-bhāva (servant-posture) acts, each subordinate to Bhagavān as the ultimate receiver. When negotiating a fee or managing resources (Rāmānuja's 'dravyārjana'), ask: am I doing this to expand my domain, or to better serve the larger yajña? The reorientation need not be verbal; it lives in the motivation layer, and Bhagavān's grace progressively unwinds the deep karmic impressions one carries from past lives.

show all 6

Dvaita

Structure daily work as direct, named worship of Hari: at the start of any significant task, explicitly acknowledge that you are the jīva (dependent soul) and Hari is the prabhu (master). Do not blur the asymmetry — Madhva's insistence on eternal difference means the posture of dependency is permanent, not a training wheel. Examine desires around outcomes carefully: the binding agent is saṅga with a specific desired result. Even duties prescribed by one's station (svadharma) must be discharged without the 'this fruit should come to me' clause.

Śuddhādvaita

Cultivate the understanding that your skill, your effort, and the result are all Kṛṣṇa's own svarūpa-śakti (innate power) in motion — you are the instrument of Bhagavān's self-expression, not its author. When you catch yourself calculating whether an effort will be 'worth it', that is the moment of para-dharma or kāmya-karma creeping in. In prema-bhakti, even the smallest act — cooking, cleaning, writing — is offered as prasāda-seva (service of the offering), and Kṛṣṇa receives it. The daily practice is to shift from 'I made this' to 'this happened through me as Bhagavān's līlā.'

Bhakti

Keep it simple: before beginning any recurring duty, silently dedicate it to Viṣṇu's prīti (pleasure). This does not require elaborate internal architecture — Śrīdhara's voice is spare and devotional. The practice is niṣkāmatā (desirelessness) paired with Viṣṇu-smaraṇa (remembrance of Viṣṇu). Over time, the habit of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa at the opening and closing of each activity becomes a continuous thread that transforms ordinary karma into yajñārtha-karma without disrupting external form or profession.

Advaita-Bhakti

Bring śraddhā (trust, conviction) into the act itself — not merely detachment from results but a warm belief that the Lord receives the work. Madhusūdana's added layer means mechanical niṣkāmatā without śraddhā is incomplete; the work must be done 'śraddhā-ādi-puraḥsaram' (led by faith and related qualities). Practically: at moments of doubt, anxiety, or fatigue during a task, invoke Kṛṣṇa's presence as parameśvara before resuming — this is not superstition but the Advaita-grounded recognition that the substrate of the work is Brahman, and the bhakti adds the relational warmth that keeps the practice sustainable.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 3, Verse 9: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Yoga