Sanskrit
अथैतदप्यशक्तोऽसि कर्तुं मद्योगमाश्रितः । सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं ततः कुरु यतात्मवान् ॥
athaitad apy aśakto 'si kartuṃ madyogam āśritaḥ sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṃ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān
Translation
If even to do this thou hast not strength, then, taking refuge in union with Me, renounce all fruit of action with the self controlled.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The third and final rung of the ladder: simple renunciation of the fruits of action, self-controlled. Notice the ladder has moved from an internal discipline (verse 9’s practice) to an external orientation (verse 10’s service) to an internal disposition again (verse 11’s non-attachment to outcome) — each easier to sustain than the last, none of them requiring the sustained inward fixation verse 8 originally asked for. The last rung: simple renunciation of the fruit of action. The ladder has moved from an inward discipline (practice) through an outward orientation (service) back to an inward disposition (non-attachment to outcome) — each easier to sustain, none requiring BG 12.8’s sustained fixation.
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Word by word
- athaitad apy aśakto 'si kartuṃअथैतद् अप्य् अशक्तो ऽसि कर्तुं
- but if you are unable to do even this (atha + etat + api + aśaktaḥ + asi + kartum)
- madyogam āśritaḥमद्योगं आश्रितः
- taking refuge in My yoga (mat-yogam + āśritaḥ)
- sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṃ tataḥसर्वकर्मफलत्यागं ततः
- then, the renunciation of the fruit of all action (sarva-karma-phala-tyāgam + tataḥ)
- kuru yatātmavānकुरु यतात्मवान्
- do, self-controlled (kuru + yata-ātma-vān)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The third rung asks for the least outward change of any of them — keep doing what you’re doing, just let go of your grip on how it turns out. It’s worth noticing that the “easiest” step in this ladder isn’t procedurally simplest, it’s the one nearest to where a struggling person already stands.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When even structured practice and service both feel out of reach right now, the fallback isn't giving up — it's simply releasing your grip on how what you're already doing turns out.
Professional
- When you can't commit to a rigorous new process or extra work right now, you can still practice releasing your attachment to how the work you're already doing turns out — that's a legitimate discipline, not a lesser one.
Family & Social
- When you can't manage a grand gesture of care for someone right now, just let go of needing a particular response to what you're already doing for them — that release alone is a real form of practice.
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