A core teaching · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“Action loses its grip when it becomes offering, not possession.”
For one who has given up attachment, is freed, and whose mind rests in knowledge, all action melts away when done only for sacrifice.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyof one gone beyond attachment · of one freed · of one whose mind is established in knowledge · for sacrifice · practising · action · entire · melts away
When attachment is gone and the mind rests in clear understanding, work done as an offering no longer binds a person.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (Knowledge and Renunciation of Action).
Verse 23 sits in Chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "Knowledge and Renunciation of Action". The chapter has 42 verses in total.
You send the message, make the apology, or sign the resignation with a steady hand. The act is finished; the mental grip on it does not have to continue.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts action from self-protection to offering, so effort no longer leaves a chain of consequences in the mind.
What this verse means
When attachment is gone and the mind rests in clear understanding, work done as an offering no longer binds a person.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Arjuna is frozen before the war. Krishna keeps teaching how action can be purified. Here he says that when a person is free of attachment and grounded in knowledge, even action disappears as bondage if it is done only as sacrifice.
Why this verse still matters
You send the message, make the apology, or sign the resignation with a steady hand. The act is finished; the mental grip on it does not have to continue.
“There is relief in acting without clinging; the work can be complete without leaving a burden behind.”
Explore related themes: yajna (32 verses), attachment (20 verses), nishkama karma (12 verses)