18.23
Chapter 18, Verse 23
नियतं सङ्गरहितमरागद्वेषतः कृतम्। अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत्तत्सात्त्विकमुच्यते৷৷
niyataṅ saṅgarahitamarāgadvēṣataḥ kṛtam. aphalaprēpsunā karma yattatsāttvikamucyatē৷৷
Translation
An obligatory action done by one who is disinterested, who neither likes nor dislikes it, and gives no thought to the consequences that follow, such an action is Pure.
Translation — Purohit Swami
Commentary
नियतम् ordained, सङ्गरहितम् free from attachment, अरागद्वेषतः without love or hatred, कृतम् done, अफलप्रेप्सुना by one not desirous of the fruit, कर्म action, यत् which, तत् that, सात्त्विकम् Sattvic (pure), ुच्यते is declared. Commentary: Niyatam Ordained Obligatory. One is not excited to perform an obligatory action through love or hatred.This is a pure act. The performer of such pure action experiences great joy. He does his duty or any other work wholeheartedly not caring for the reward but offering it willingly at the feet of the Lord. He works in accordancw with the dictates of the scriptures. Now I will explain to thee, O Arjuna, the nature of action which is Rajasic or passionate. Do thou listen to Me with rapt attention.
Commentary — Swami Sivananda
Sanskrit and transliteration of the Bhagavad Gita. Corpus compiled from the vedabase and the IIT Kanpur Gita Supersite.