Sanskrit
आरुरुक्षोर्मुनेर्योगं कर्म कारणमुच्यते । योगारूढस्य तस्यैव शमः कारणमुच्यते ॥
ārurukṣor muner yogaṃ karma kāraṇam ucyate yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śamaḥ kāraṇam ucyate
Translation
For a Sage who is seeking Yoga, action is called the means; for the same Sage, when he is enthroned in yoga, serenity is called the means.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A two-stage model of practice: action is the means for the sage still climbing toward yoga, but once established (yogarudha) the means shifts to stillness itself. The verse quietly closes off a likely misreading of verse 2 — that renouncing sankalpa means renouncing action from the start. Action is exactly how one gets to the point where it can be set down. The staircase image (ārurukṣu, “wishing to climb”; ārūḍha, “having climbed”) makes the two not rivals but phases: karma-yoga is the ascent, śama the arrival.
Study deeper
Word by word
- ārurukṣor muner yogaṃआरुरुक्षोः मुनेः योगं
- for the sage wishing to climb to yoga (ārurukṣoḥ + muneḥ + yogam)
- karma kāraṇam ucyateकर्म कारणं उच्यते
- action is called the means (karma + kāraṇam + ucyate)
- yogārūḍhasya tasyaivaयोगारूढस्य तस्यैव
- for that same one, once established in yoga (yoga-ārūḍhasya + tasya + eva)
- śamaḥ kāraṇam ucyateशमः कारणं उच्यते
- stillness is called the means (śamaḥ + kāraṇam + ucyate)
Commentary
Site Commentary
This verse quietly forecloses a shortcut a reader might take from verse 2: if sankalpa is the problem, why not skip straight to stillness and drop action now? Krishna specifies a sequence instead — action is the means for the climber, serenity only for the one already established. The mistake isn’t wanting the destination, it’s trying to start there.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- If you're still building a skill or discipline, don't imitate the stripped-down routine of someone who's already mastered it — their stillness is the result of the work you haven't done yet, not a shortcut past it.
Professional
- A senior engineer who reviews code lightly and trusts their instincts got there through years of rigorous, effortful practice — don't skip your own rigor just because you've seen where the expertise ends up. Match your stage, not their stage.
Family & Social
- If a parent or mentor seems relaxed about something you're still anxious about, don't assume you should copy their ease directly — their calm was built by going through the effortful stage you're currently in, not by skipping it.
Ask yourself
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