A core teaching · grounding in mood · a little context helps
“Clear action frees you from the weight of both success and failure.”
One who is united with clear discernment casts off both good and bad deeds in this life. Therefore, devote yourself to yoga, for yoga is skill in action.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyone united with discerning mind · casts off · here, in this life · both · good deed and bad deed · therefore · for yoga · be devoted · yoga · in actions · skill, dexterity
Clear discernment lets a person rise above both merit and fault. Krishna tells Arjuna to take up yoga, because true yoga is skill in action.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 50 sits in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita — Sankhya Yoga, "The Yoga of Knowledge". The chapter has 72 verses in total.
You send the message, then keep rereading it for hours, trying to judge whether it was right or wrong. This verse says the steady mind stops living inside that loop and simply acts cleanly.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts attention from moral self-judgment to disciplined action with clarity.
What this verse means
Clear discernment lets a person rise above both merit and fault. Krishna tells Arjuna to take up yoga, because true yoga is skill in action.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna is still frozen between action and fear. Krishna deepens his teaching: when the mind is steady, a person is no longer bound by the usual grip of merit and fault. That is why he urges Arjuna toward yoga.
Why this verse still matters
You send the message, then keep rereading it for hours, trying to judge whether it was right or wrong. This verse says the steady mind stops living inside that loop and simply acts cleanly.
“You do not have to be trapped by the moral weight of every result.”
Explore related themes: kurukshetra (95 verses), karma yoga (55 verses), samatva (13 verses)