Today's Goal
By the end of today, you will be able to sound out every syllable of Bhagavad Gita 2.47 in Devanagari, the most famous verse about selfless action.
The Verse: BG 2.47
This is arguably the most quoted verse of the Gita. Krishna tells Arjuna the secret of action: you have a right to act, but never to the fruits of action. Let's read it in the original Sanskrit.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन | karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana | Your right is to action alone, never to its fruits at any time |
| मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि | mā karmaphalaheturbhūr mā te saṅgo'stvakarmaṇi | Let not the fruit of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction |
Line 1 Breakdown: कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते
Let's decode this word by word. In Sanskrit, words often merge together (sandhi) — we'll learn about that next week. For now, let's just identify the syllables.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| कर्मणि | karmaṇi | in action — क-र्-म-णि (ka-r-ma-ṇi) |
| एव | eva | alone, only — ए-व (e-va) |
| अधिकारः | adhikāraḥ | right, authority — अ-धि-का-रः (a-dhi-kā-raḥ) |
| ते | te | your — ते (te) |
Line 1 continued: मा फलेषु कदाचन
The second half of line 1.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| मा | mā | never, do not — मा (mā) |
| फलेषु | phaleṣu | in the fruits — फ-ले-षु (pha-le-ṣu) |
| कदाचन | kadācana | at any time — क-दा-च-न (ka-dā-ca-na) |
Line 2 Breakdown: मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूः
The first half of line 2.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| कर्मफल | karmaphala | fruit of action — a compound word: karma + phala |
| हेतुः | hetuḥ | cause, motive — हे-तुः (he-tuḥ) |
| भूः | bhūḥ | be, become — भूः (bhūḥ) |
Line 2 continued: मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि
The final quarter of the verse.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| सङ्गः | saṅgaḥ | attachment — स-ङ्-गः (sa-ṅ-gaḥ) |
| अस्तु | astu | let it be — अ-स्तु (a-stu) |
| अकर्मणि | akarmaṇi | in inaction — अ-क-र्-म-णि (a-ka-r-ma-ṇi) |
Gītā Connection
BG 2.47 is the heart of Karma Yoga — the yoga of selfless action. Krishna teaches Arjuna (and us) that we should act without attachment to results. This verse has inspired leaders from Mahatma Gandhi to modern mindfulness practitioners. You just read it in the original Sanskrit!
Practice
Read the first line of BG 2.47 aloud, syllable by syllable. Point to each syllable as you read. Don't worry about speed — accuracy matters.
- कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते → kar-ma-ṇy-e-vā-dhi-kā-ras-te
- मा फलेषु कदाचन → mā pha-le-ṣu ka-dā-ca-na
Now read the second line of BG 2.47 aloud.
- मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूः → mā kar-ma-pha-la-he-tur-bhūḥ
- मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि → mā te saṅ-go-stv-a-kar-ma-ṇi
Match each word to its meaning from memory.
- कर्मणि = in action
- अधिकारः = right/authority
- फलेषु = in the fruits
- हेतुः = cause/motive
- सङ्गः = attachment
- अकर्मणि = in inaction
Recap
Congratulations — you just read the most famous verse of the Bhagavad Gita in its original Sanskrit! You identified every syllable of BG 2.47 using the Devanagari skills from this week: vowels, consonants, mātrā marks, conjuncts, anusvara, and visarga. Week 1 is complete.
Coming Tomorrow
Week 2 shifts from script to grammar. Day 8 tackles sandhi — the system of sound merging that makes Sanskrit words flow together. It's why 'karmaṇi eva' becomes 'karmaṇyeva' — and once you understand it, Sanskrit stops looking intimidating.