A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Peace comes when action is no longer chained to reward.”
The disciplined one gives up the fruit of action and attains steady peace. The undisciplined one, clinging to results through desire, becomes bound.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallydisciplined one · fruit of action · having given up · peace · attains · undisciplined one · through desire · in the fruit · attached · is bound
Letting go of results brings steady peace. Wanting a specific reward keeps you trapped.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (The Yoga of Renunciation).
Verse 12 sits in Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "The Yoga of Renunciation". The chapter has 29 verses in total.
You send the message, then keep checking for the reply. The knot in your chest is not from the action — it is from needing a certain outcome.
Did you like this verse?
Shift attention from getting to giving; that loosens the mind’s grip.
What this verse means
Letting go of results brings steady peace. Wanting a specific reward keeps you trapped.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Arjuna stands frozen between duty and fear. Krishna explains that action itself does not bind; craving the reward does. The one who gives up attachment to results finds steady peace.
Why this verse still matters
You send the message, then keep checking for the reply. The knot in your chest is not from the action — it is from needing a certain outcome.
“There is relief in doing your part without carrying the weight of the result.”
Explore related themes: karma yoga (55 verses), attachment (20 verses), nishkama (14 verses)