Chapter 3 is called Karma Yoga, the yoga of action. It has 43 verses and begins with a question from Arjuna that many readers have asked after chapter 2. Krishna has praised steady understanding and has also told Arjuna to fight. Arjuna wants to know which he is being asked to follow.
How the chapter moves
- Verses 1 to 2: Arjuna puts his difficulty plainly. If understanding is better than action, why involve him in a terrible one? He asks Krishna to say one clear thing.
- Verses 3 to 8: Krishna says there are two paths, knowledge for some and action for others. No one reaches freedom just by stopping work (3.4). No one can truly stop, because nature itself makes every living being act (3.5). Someone who holds back the body but dwells on desires is called a pretender (3.6), and the person who controls the senses with the mind and then acts is the better one (3.7).
- Verses 9 to 16: The wheel of sacrifice. Action done as an offering, as part of something larger than oneself, does not bind, and the world runs on an exchange of giving and receiving (3.10 to 3.16). A person who takes without giving back is called a thief (3.12).
- Verses 17 to 24: Even a person who needs nothing more should keep acting for the sake of others. Krishna cites the king Janaka (3.20) and then himself: he has nothing left to gain in the three worlds and still keeps acting, because people follow the example of those they look up to (3.21 to 3.24).
- Verses 25 to 35: The wise should act without attachment and should not unsettle the minds of those who act from attachment. The sense of being the sole doer is a mistake of the ego (3.27 and 3.28). Krishna asks Arjuna to offer all actions to him and to act without hope or the feeling of mine (3.30). Attraction and aversion lie in wait in every sense (3.34), and one’s own duty is better than another’s (3.35).
- Verses 36 to 43: Arjuna asks why a person does wrong even against their will. Krishna’s answer is desire, which turns into anger. It covers knowledge as smoke covers fire, and it lives in the senses, the mind and the intellect (3.37 to 3.40). The chapter ends with the ladder of the senses, mind, intellect and self (3.42), and a call to steady oneself and strike down this enemy (3.43).
Three ideas to hold on to
You cannot opt out of action. Verse 3.5 says that no one stays without acting even for a moment. Breathing, eating and thinking are action too. So the practical question is how to act, not whether.
Action done as an offering does not bind. The key word is yajna, usually translated as sacrifice. Teachers read it in three ways: literally as the fire ritual, more widely as any duty done without selfishness, and, in modern readings, as the idea of fair exchange between people and nature. The chapter supports all three, and you are free to take the reading that makes most sense to you.
The enemy is within. The final verses place the cause of wrong action in desire and anger, not in other people. The ladder in 3.42 is the Gita’s first map of the inner life, and it uses a similar picture to one in the Katha Upanishad.
A note on verse 35
Svadharma, one’s own duty, is read in different ways. Some commentators take it as the duties of one’s social role, and others as the duty that fits one’s own nature. The verse does not settle the point, and later chapters, especially 18, return to it. This page presents the verse without choosing between those readings.
The text, transliteration and meaning
All 43 verses follow. The speaker is shown on each card, and a verse list below lets you jump to any verse.
ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन
तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ॥ ३.१ ॥
Jyayasi chet karmanas te mata buddhir janardana
Tat kim karmani ghore mam niyojayasi keshava
MeaningArjuna says: Janardana, if you hold that understanding is a better thing than action, then why, Keshava, do you urge me to this terrible deed of war?
NoteArjuna is puzzled. Krishna has praised understanding in chapter 2 and also told him to fight, and he asks which of the two he is meant to follow.
व्यामिश्रेणैव वाक्येन बुद्धिं मोहयसीव मे
तदेकं वद निश्चित्य येन श्रेयोऽहमाप्नुयाम् ॥ ३.२ ॥
Vyamishrenaiva vakyena buddhim mohayasiva me
Tad ekam vada nishchitya yena shreyo 'ham apnuyam
MeaningWith words that seem to point two ways you confuse my mind. Tell me one thing clearly, so that I may gain what is truly best.
लोकेऽस्मिन्द्विविधा निष्ठा पुरा प्रोक्ता मयानघ
ज्ञानयोगेन सांख्यानां कर्मयोगेन योगिनाम् ॥ ३.३ ॥
Loke 'smin dvividha nishtha pura prokta mayanagha
Jnanayogena sankhyanam karmayogena yoginam
MeaningThe Blessed Lord says: Sinless one, I have already taught that there are two paths in this world: the path of knowledge for the contemplatives, and the path of action for those who do the work of yoga.
NoteKrishna says there are two ways of living the teaching, knowledge for some and action for others, and then spends the rest of the chapter on the second. This verse is the key to the structure of the chapter.
न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुते
न च संन्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति ॥ ३.४ ॥
Na karmanam anarambhan naishkarmyam purusho 'shnute
Na cha sannyasanad eva siddhim samadhigachchhati
MeaningA person does not reach freedom from action just by not starting any action, and does not reach perfection merely by renouncing.
NoteThe point is that simply not acting is neither freedom nor achievement. The verse sets up the next verse.
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत्
कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥ ३.५ ॥
Na hi kash chit kshanam api jatu tishthaty akarmakrit
Karyate hy avashah karma sarvah prakritijair gunaih
MeaningNo one can remain without acting even for a moment. Every being is made to act, without choice, by the qualities born of nature.
NoteNo one can stop acting even for a moment. Eating, breathing and thinking are all acts, so the real question is how to act, not whether to act.
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन्
इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते ॥ ३.६ ॥
Karmendriyani samyamya ya aste manasa smaran
Indriyarthan vimudhatma mithyacharah sa uchyate
MeaningSomeone who holds back the organs of action but sits there with the mind dwelling on sense objects is confused in spirit and is called a pretender.
यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन
कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगमसक्तः स विशिष्यते ॥ ३.७ ॥
Yas tv indriyani manasa niyamyarabhate 'rjuna
Karmendriyaih karmayogam asaktah sa vishishyate
MeaningBut the one who controls the senses with the mind, Arjuna, and takes up the yoga of action through the organs of action without attachment, is the better person.
नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः
शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिध्येदकर्मणः ॥ ३.८ ॥
Niyatam kuru karma tvam karma jyayo hy akarmanah
Sharirayatrapi cha te na prasidhyed akarmanah
MeaningDo the work that is yours to do. Action is better than inaction, and without action even the upkeep of your body would not be possible.
यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः
तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर ॥ ३.९ ॥
Yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam karmabandhanah
Tadartham karma kaunteya muktasangah samachara
MeaningThe world is bound by action except action done as sacrifice. So, son of Kunti, do your action for that purpose, free from attachment.
NoteThe word yajna, sacrifice, is used widely in this chapter. Here it is read as action done as an offering, for something larger than oneself.
सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः
अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥ ३.१० ॥
Sahayajnah prajah srishtva purovacha prajapatih
Anena prasavishyadhvam esha vo 'stv ishtakamadhuk
MeaningIn the beginning the Lord of creatures made beings together with sacrifice and said: through this you will flourish. Let it be for you the cow that gives what you desire.
NoteVerses 10 to 16 describe a cycle of giving and receiving between people, nature and the gods. Teachers read it in more than one way: as ritual, as duty, and, in modern readings, as a picture of reciprocity.
देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः
परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ ॥ ३.११ ॥
Devan bhavayatanena te deva bhavayantu vah
Parasparam bhavayantah shreyah param avapsyatha
MeaningNourish the gods with this, and let the gods nourish you. By supporting one another in this way, you will reach the highest good.
इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः
तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङ्क्ते स्तेन एव सः ॥ ३.१२ ॥
Ishtan bhogan hi vo deva dasyante yajnabhavitah
Tair dattan apradayaibhyo yo bhunkte stena eva sah
MeaningNourished by sacrifice, the gods will give you the enjoyments you wish for. One who enjoys what they have given without giving anything back is simply a thief.
यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषैः
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ॥ ३.१३ ॥
Yajnashishtashinah santo muchyante sarvakilbishaih
Bhunjate te tv agham papa ye pachanty atmakaranat
MeaningGood people who eat what remains after the sacrifice are freed from all faults. But those who cook only for themselves eat sin.
अन्नाद्भवन्ति भूतानि पर्जन्यादन्नसंभवः
यज्ञाद्भवति पर्जन्यो यज्ञः कर्मसमुद्भवः ॥ ३.१४ ॥
Annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad annasambhavah
Yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karmasamudbhavah
MeaningBeings arise from food, food from rain, rain from sacrifice, and sacrifice from action.
कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम्
तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥ ३.१५ ॥
Karma brahmodbhavam viddhi brahmaksharasamudbhavam
Tasmat sarvagatam brahma nityam yajne pratishthitam
MeaningKnow that action comes from Brahman, and Brahman from the imperishable. Therefore the all-pervading Brahman is always present in sacrifice.
एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह यः
अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति ॥ ३.१६ ॥
Evam pravartitam chakram nanuvartayatiha yah
Aghayur indriyaramo mogham partha sa jivati
MeaningOne who in this life does not help to keep turning the wheel set in motion in this way lives in vain, Partha, a life of sin, delighting only in the senses.
यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः
आत्मन्येव च संतुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥ ३.१७ ॥
Yas tv atmaratir eva syad atmatriptash cha manavah
Atmany eva cha santushtas tasya karyam na vidyate
MeaningBut the person who delights in the self, is satisfied in the self and is content in the self alone has no duty left to do.
नैव तस्य कृतेनार्थो नाकृतेनेह कश्चन
न चास्य सर्वभूतेषु कश्चिदर्थव्यपाश्रयः ॥ ३.१८ ॥
Naiva tasya kritenartho nakriteneha kash chana
Na chasya sarvabhuteshu kash chid arthavyapashrayah
MeaningSuch a person gains nothing by acting and loses nothing by not acting, and does not depend on any being for any purpose.
तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर
असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुषः ॥ ३.१९ ॥
Tasmad asaktah satatam karyam karma samachara
Asakto hy acharan karma param apnoti purushah
MeaningSo always do the work that has to be done without attachment. A person who acts without attachment reaches the Supreme.
कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः
लोकसंग्रहमेवापि संपश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि ॥ ३.२० ॥
Karmanaiva hi samsiddhim asthita janakadayah
Lokasangraham evapi sampashyan kartum arhasi
MeaningJanaka and others attained perfection through action alone. Keeping the welfare of the world in view, you too should act.
NoteJanaka was the king of Videha, remembered in the tradition as a ruler who was also a knower of the self. His example shows a person who kept acting in the world while inwardly free.
यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः
स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥ ३.२१ ॥
Yad yad acharati shreshthas tat tad evetaro janah
Sa yat pramanam kurute lokas tad anuvartate
MeaningWhatever a leading person does, others follow. Whatever standard such a person sets, the world follows.
NoteThe verse gives a reason for acting well even when personal need is gone: others take their cue from those they respect.
न मे पार्थास्ति कर्तव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु किं चन
नानवाप्तमवाप्तव्यं वर्त एव च कर्मणि ॥ ३.२२ ॥
Na me parthasti kartavyam trishu lokeshu kim chana
Nanavaptam avaptavyam varta eva cha karmani
MeaningPartha, I have nothing at all to do in the three worlds, nothing unattained that I must gain, and yet I remain engaged in action.
यदि ह्यहं न वर्तेयं जातु कर्मण्यतन्द्रितः
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः ॥ ३.२३ ॥
Yadi hy aham na varteyam jatu karmany atandritah
Mama vartmanuvartante manushyah partha sarvashah
MeaningIf I ever stopped acting, never tired, Partha, people would follow my path in every way.
उत्सीदेयुरिमे लोका न कुर्यां कर्म चेदहम्
संकरस्य च कर्ता स्यामुपहन्यामिमाः प्रजाः ॥ ३.२४ ॥
Utsideyur ime loka na kuryam karma ched aham
Sankarasya cha karta syam upahanyam imah prajah
MeaningThese worlds would fall into ruin if I did not act, and I would be the cause of confusion and would harm these people.
सक्ताः कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत
कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसंग्रहम् ॥ ३.२५ ॥
Saktah karmany avidvamso yatha kurvanti bharata
Kuryad vidvams tathasaktash chikirshur lokasangraham
MeaningAs the unwise act out of attachment to action, Bharata, so the wise should act without attachment, wishing to hold the world together.
न बुद्धिभेदं जनयेदज्ञानां कर्मसङ्गिनाम्
जोषयेत्सर्वकर्माणि विद्वान्युक्तः समाचरन् ॥ ३.२६ ॥
Na buddhibhedam janayed ajnanam karmasanginam
Joshayet sarvakarmani vidvan yuktah samacharan
MeaningThe wise should not unsettle the minds of the ignorant who are attached to action. Acting with steadiness, they should encourage all action.
प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहंकारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥ ३.२७ ॥
Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvashah
Ahankaravimudhatma kartaham iti manyate
MeaningAll actions are performed by the qualities of nature. One whose mind is confused by ego thinks, I am the doer.
NoteThis verse and the next are the Gita's first sketch of the gunas, the three qualities of nature, which chapters 14 and 17 return to. Here the point is that the sense of being the sole doer is an error of the ego.
तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः
गुणा गुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जते ॥ ३.२८ ॥
Tattvavit tu mahabaho gunakarmavibhagayoh
Guna guneshu vartanta iti matva na sajjate
MeaningBut the one who knows the truth about the division of qualities and actions, mighty-armed Arjuna, understands that qualities act on qualities, and is not attached.
प्रकृतेर्गुणसंमूढाः सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु
तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत् ॥ ३.२९ ॥
Prakriter gunasammudhah sajjante gunakarmasu
Tan akritsnavido mandan kritsnavin na vichalayet
MeaningThose deluded by the qualities of nature cling to the actions of those qualities. The one who sees the whole should not disturb these dull people who see only a part.
मयि सर्वाणि कर्माणि संन्यस्याध्यात्मचेतसा
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः ॥ ३.३० ॥
Mayi sarvani karmani sannyasyadhyatmachetasa
Nirashir nirmamo bhutva yudhyasva vigatajvarah
MeaningOffering all your actions to me, with your mind fixed on the self, free from hope and from the sense of mine, fight, with your fever gone.
NoteOffering action to the Lord is one of the central ideas of the Gita. It is a way of acting without being gripped by the result.
ये मे मतमिदं नित्यमनुतिष्ठन्ति मानवाः
श्रद्धावन्तोऽनसूयन्तो मुच्यन्ते तेऽपि कर्मभिः ॥ ३.३१ ॥
Ye me matam idam nityam anutishthanti manavah
Shraddhavanto 'nasuyanto muchyante te 'pi karmabhih
MeaningThose who always follow this teaching of mine with faith and without faultfinding are also freed from the bonds of action.
ये त्वेतदभ्यसूयन्तो नानुतिष्ठन्ति मे मतम्
सर्वज्ञानविमूढांस्तान्विद्धि नष्टानचेतसः ॥ ३.३२ ॥
Ye tv etad abhyasuyanto nanutishthanti me matam
Sarvajnanavimudhams tan viddhi nashtan achetasah
MeaningBut those who find fault with it and do not follow my teaching, know them to be lost and without discernment, confused about all knowledge.
सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि
प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति ॥ ३.३३ ॥
Sadrisham cheshtate svasyah prakriter jnanavan api
Prakritim yanti bhutani nigrahah kim karishyati
MeaningEven a person of knowledge acts in line with their own nature. Beings follow nature, so what will restraint achieve?
इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ
तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ ॥ ३.३४ ॥
Indriyasyendriyasyarthe ragadveshau vyavasthitau
Tayor na vasham agachchhet tau hy asya paripanthinau
MeaningAttraction and aversion are fixed in the object of each sense. One should not come under their power, for they are a person's obstacles on the way.
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥ ३.३५ ॥
Shreyan svadharmo vigunah paradharmat svanushthitat
Svadharme nidhanam shreyah paradharmo bhayavahah
MeaningOne's own duty, though lacking polish, is better than someone else's duty carried out well. Death while keeping to one's own duty is better, and another's duty is full of danger.
NoteOne of the most discussed verses of the chapter. Svadharma is read by some as the duty of one's social role and by others as the duty that suits one's own nature. The verse itself does not settle the question, and the commentators disagree.
अथ केन प्रयुक्तोऽयं पापं चरति पूरुषः
अनिच्छन्नपि वार्ष्णेय बलादिव नियोजितः ॥ ३.३६ ॥
Atha kena prayukto 'yam papam charati purushah
Anichchhann api varshneya balad iva niyojitah
MeaningArjuna says: Then by what is a person impelled to commit sin, Varshneya, even without wishing to, as if driven by force?
NoteArjuna asks the real question of the chapter: why do people act badly even when they do not want to?
काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः
महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥ ३.३७ ॥
Kama esha krodha esha rajogunasamudbhavah
Mahashano mahapapma viddhy enam iha vairinam
MeaningThe Blessed Lord says: It is desire, it is anger, born of the quality of passion, all-consuming and very sinful. Know this to be the enemy here.
NoteKrishna names kama, desire, and krodha, anger, as one thing in two forms. This sets up the final verses of the chapter.
धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथादर्शो मलेन च
यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ॥ ३.३८ ॥
Dhumenavriyate vahnir yathadarsho malena cha
Yatholbenavrito garbhas tatha tenedam avritam
MeaningAs fire is covered by smoke, a mirror by dust, and an unborn child by the womb, so this world is covered by that.
आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा
कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च ॥ ३.३९ ॥
Avritam jnanam etena jnanino nityavairina
Kamarupena kaunteya dushpurenanalena cha
MeaningKnowledge is covered by this constant enemy of the wise, in the form of desire, son of Kunti, which is like a fire that can never be filled.
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते
एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम् ॥ ३.४० ॥
Indriyani mano buddhir asyadhishthanam uchyate
Etair vimohayaty esha jnanam avritya dehinam
MeaningThe senses, the mind and the intellect are said to be its seat. By means of these it covers knowledge and confuses the embodied self.
तस्मात्त्वमिन्द्रियाण्यादौ नियम्य भरतर्षभ
पाप्मानं प्रजहिह्येनं ज्ञानविज्ञाननाशनम् ॥ ३.४१ ॥
Tasmat tvam indriyany adau niyamya bharatarshabha
Papmanam prajahihy enam jnanavijnananashanam
MeaningSo, best of the Bharatas, first bring the senses under control, and then strike down this sinful thing that destroys knowledge and realisation.
इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः ॥ ३.४२ ॥
Indriyani parany ahur indriyebhyah param manah
Manasas tu para buddhir yo buddheh paratas tu sah
MeaningThe senses, they say, are high. Higher than the senses is the mind, higher than the mind is the intellect, and what is higher than the intellect is that self.
NoteA ladder of inner levels: the senses, then the mind, then the intellect, then the self beyond them. The Katha Upanishad uses a similar ladder.
एवं बुद्धेः परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना
जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम् ॥ ३.४३ ॥
Evam buddheh param buddhva samstabhyatmanam atmana
Jahi shatrum mahabaho kamarupam durasadam
MeaningKnowing what is beyond the intellect, steadying yourself by your own self, strike down the enemy, mighty-armed one, who takes the form of desire and is hard to reach.
NoteThe chapter closes with a call to steady oneself by the self. The enemy named here is not a person but desire, and Arjuna is told to deal with it from the highest level of his own mind.
Chapter summary
Chapter 3 answers Arjuna’s doubt in four steps. Action cannot be avoided, because nature makes everyone act. What matters is how a person acts, and the Gita’s answer is to act without clinging to the result and to offer the action to something beyond oneself. A person who is held in respect also has a duty to act well, because others copy them. And the real obstacle to acting well is not outside a person but in the form of desire and anger.
Krishna does not set action against knowledge. He says in verse 3 that both paths exist, and he then gives the longer part of the chapter to the path that suits Arjuna’s situation. The two paths are brought together in chapters 4 and 5.
The chapter ends with a practical instruction rather than an idea: steady yourself by the self, using the intellect to guide the mind and the mind to guide the senses. For many readers this ladder of inner levels is the most useful part of the chapter.
Where the two source texts differ
We compared the critical edition text held at GRETIL with the Sanskrit Wikisource text, verse by verse. All 43 verses are present in both. Differences only in spacing, in the way a nasal sound is written, and in how words are joined are not listed. Two verses differ in the words:
- Verse 2: the critical edition reads vyāmiśreṇaiva vākyena, “with a mixed-sounding speech indeed”, and the printed text reads vyāmiśreṇeva vākyena, “as if with a mixed-sounding speech”. The meaning is close either way.
- Verse 8: the critical edition spells prasidhyet and the printed text spells prasiddhyet. They are two spellings of the same verb form, meaning “would be accomplished”.
So 2 of the 43 verses differ in the words between the two texts, and neither changes the teaching.
Source of the text on this page. The Sanskrit is the critical edition text of the Bhagavad Gita held at GRETIL, based on the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute edition of the Mahabharata, where this chapter is chapter 25 of the Bhishma Parva. It is in Roman script, and we converted it to Devanagari ourselves. We checked every verse against Sanskrit Wikisource. The transliteration is a simple guide to sound and the meanings are our own wording. See the Bhagavad Gita hub for the full note on sources.