A core teaching · grounding in mood · a little context helps
“Peace begins when wanting, owning, and self-importance fall away.”
One who gives up all desires, moves without craving, without possessiveness, and without ego, attains peace.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallygiving up · desires · who · all · person · moves, acts · without craving · without possessiveness · without ego · that one · peace · attains
A person who acts after releasing desire, possessiveness, and ego finds peace.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Sankhya Yoga" (The Yoga of Knowledge).
Verse 71 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 checking for a reply. You finish the work, then want credit. This verse points to the calm that comes when action is no longer chained to grasping.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts the mind from needing validation to moving cleanly through action.
What this verse means
A person who acts after releasing desire, possessiveness, and ego finds peace.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Arjuna is frozen between duty and grief. Krishna keeps refining the way to inner freedom: not by escaping action, but by acting after dropping craving, possessiveness, and ego. That is the doorway to peace.
Why this verse still matters
You send the message, then keep checking for a reply. You finish the work, then want credit. This verse points to the calm that comes when action is no longer chained to grasping.
“There is relief in moving through life without needing to own, control, or prove anything.”
Explore related themes: vairagya (51 verses), nishkama (14 verses)