Sanskrit
अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्ष उदासीनो गतव्यथः । सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः ॥
anapekṣaḥ śucir dakṣa udāsīno gatavyathaḥ sarvārambhaparityāgī yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Translation
He who wants nothing, is pure, expert, passionless, untroubled, renouncing every undertaking, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
“Dakṣa” — expert, competent — is the notable outlier in this line. Sandwiched between wanting nothing and renouncing every undertaking, it names practical competence as a mark of the devotee, not just detachment or withdrawal; the portrait isn’t asking for passivity, only for action performed without personal stake, consistent with verse 11’s renunciation of fruits rather than of activity itself. Dakṣa — “expert, competent” — is the outlier, sandwiched between wanting nothing and renouncing every undertaking: practical competence is a mark of the devotee, not passivity. The portrait asks for action without personal stake, per BG 12.11, not withdrawal from action.
Study deeper
Word by word
- anapekṣaḥ śucir dakṣaअनपेक्षः शुचिः दक्ष
- free of expectation, pure, capable (anapekṣaḥ + śuciḥ + dakṣaḥ)
- udāsīno gatavyathaḥउदासीनो गतव्यथः
- impartial, free of distress (udāsīnaḥ + gata-vyathaḥ)
- sarvārambhaparityāgīसर्वारंभपरित्यागी
- who has given up every undertaking [for personal gain] (sarva-ārambha-parityāgī)
- yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥयो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः
- who is My devotee, he is dear to Me (yaḥ + mat-bhaktaḥ + saḥ + me + priyaḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
“Dakṣa” — competent, skillful — sits between “wants nothing” and “renounces every undertaking,” and it doesn’t belong there by accident. Detachment in this portrait was never meant to excuse doing things poorly; the devotee this verse describes still does the work well, just without a personal stake in how it’s received.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- As you work on letting go of ego and attachment to outcomes, don't let that slide into doing things half-heartedly — non-attachment and doing the work well aren't in tension, whatever this verse's list implies otherwise.
Professional
- When you stop chasing credit or recognition for your work, keep the quality bar exactly where it was — detachment from praise is never an excuse for a lower standard of output.
Family & Social
- When you decide to care for someone without expecting anything back, that doesn't mean lowering the quality of the care you give — selflessness and competence, this verse insists, aren't a tradeoff.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.