Sanskrit
एतान्यपि तु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च । कर्तव्यानीति मे पार्थ निश्चितं मतमुत्तमम् ॥ ६ ॥
etāny api tu karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalāni ca kartavyānīti me pārtha niścitaṃ matam uttamam
Translation
But even these actions should be done leaving aside attachment and fruit, O Partha; that is my certain and best belief.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The condition is attachment, not action, that must go — even sacrifice, gift, and austerity should be done “leaving aside attachment and fruit.” Krishna calls this his own “certain and best belief” (niscitam matam uttamam), a rare moment where the text flags its own conclusion as settled doctrine rather than one option among several. This is the tyaga standard, restated from chapter 2’s teaching on acting without claim to results, now formally distinguished from sannyasa’s outright abstention. The verse that settles the chapter’s opening question: even the purifying acts are to be done saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalāni ca, “giving up attachment and the fruits.” Renunciation and relinquishment meet exactly here — BG 2.47, said one final time.
Study deeper
Word by word
- etāny api tu karmāṇiएतान्य् अपि तु कर्माणि
- but even these actions (etāni + api + tu + karmāṇi)
- saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalāni caसङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलानि च
- abandoning attachment and fruits (saṅgam + tyaktvā + phalāni + ca)
- kartavyānīti me pārthaकर्तव्यानीति मे पार्थ
- 'ought to be done' — this, O Pārtha (kartavyāni + iti + me + pārtha)
- niścitaṃ matam uttamamनिश्चितं मतं उत्तमं
- is My firm and highest view (niścitam + matam + uttamam)
Commentary
Site Commentary
There’s a quiet tension worth noticing: the one teaching Krishna flags as his own certain, best, final view is precisely the teaching that tells you to hold everything else loosely. Total conviction about the value of non-attachment isn’t a contradiction — it just marks where Krishna thinks the loosening should stop. Some claims, in his view, are worth holding without hedging even while everything downstream of them is meant to be held without grasping.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- It's fine to hold one core belief with total certainty — like 'my worth doesn't depend on how this turns out' — even while you practice loosening your grip on everything else; conviction about the principle of non-attachment isn't itself an attachment.
Professional
- As a leader you can state one operating principle — we measure success by customer value, not vanity metrics — as a firm, non-negotiable stance, while still telling your team to hold the tactics for getting there loosely and adjust as they learn.
Family & Social
- You can tell your family one value you hold with complete certainty — honesty, showing up — as non-negotiable, while staying genuinely flexible about the specific way it gets expressed day to day; certainty about the principle doesn't require rigidity about the method.
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