Bhagavad Gita 18.9: meaning and translation
Chapter 18: Moksha Sannyasa Yoga. Krishna says
When a prescribed action is done simply because it ought to be done, Krishna tells Arjuna, giving up attachment and its fruit, that tyāga is held to be of the nature of sattva.
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Bhagavad Gita 18.9
कार्यमित्येव यत्कर्म नियतं क्रियतेऽर्जुन ।सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलं चैव स त्यागः सात्त्विको मतः ॥
Karyamityeva yatkarma niyatam kriyaterjunaSangam tyaktva phalam chaiva sa tyagah sattviko matah
kāryamityeva yatkarma niyataṃ kriyate’rjuna |saṅgaṃ tyaktvā phalaṃ caiva sa tyāgaḥ sāttviko mataḥ ||
Our explanation When a prescribed action is done simply because it ought to be done, Krishna tells Arjuna, giving up attachment and its fruit, that tyāga is held to be of the nature of sattva.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण अर्जुन से कहते हैं कि जब नियत कर्म केवल इसलिए किया जाए कि वह करना चाहिए, आसक्ति और फल छोड़कर, तो वह त्याग सात्त्विक माना गया है।
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Word by word
- कार्यम् kāryam · to be done (gerundive (to be done) (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: kārya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 276, col. 1 “to be made or done or practised or performed”
- इति iti · thus (thinking) (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. iti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 1 “in this manner, thus”
- एव eva · just (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
- यत् yat · which (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- कर्म karma · action (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: karman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 258, col. 2 “act, action, performance, business”
- नियतम् niyatam · prescribed (past participle (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: ni-yata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 552, col. 1 “fixed, established, settled, sure, regular, invariable”
- क्रियते kriyate · is done (present passive, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. kṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 301, col. 1 “to do, make, perform, accomplish, cause, effect, prepare, undertake”
- अर्जुन arjuna · O Arjuna (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: arjuna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 90, col. 1 “of the third of the Pāṇḍava princes (who was a son of Indra and Kuntī)”
- सङ्गम् saṅgam · attachment (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: saṅga, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1132, col. 3 “(esp.) worldly or selfish attachment or affection, desire, wish, cupidity”
- त्यक्त्वा tyaktvā · having given up (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: 1. tyaj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 456, col. 3 “to leave, abandon, quit”
- फलम् phalam · the fruit (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: phala, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 716, col. 2 “fruit (met.), consequence, effect, result, retribution (good or bad)”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- एव eva · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
- सः saḥ · that (pronoun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- त्यागः tyāgaḥ · giving up (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: tyāga, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 456, col. 3 “leaving, abandoning, forsaking”
- सात्त्विकः sāttvikaḥ · of sattva (adjective (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: sāttvika, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1200, col. 1 “relating to or endowed with the quality Sattva (i.e. ‘purity’ or ‘goodness’)”
- मतः mataḥ · is held (past participle (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: mata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 783, col. 1 “regarded or considered as, taken or passing for (nom. or adv.)”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 122.
When prescribed action is performed, O Arguna! abandoning attachment and fruit also, merely because it ought to be performed, that is deemed (to be) a good abandonment.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 122.
When prescribed action is performed, O Arguna! abandoning attachment and fruit also, merely because it ought to be performed, that is deemed (to be) a good abandonment.
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 154.
He who saying, "It ought to be done," performeth an ordained action, O Arjuna, abandoning attachment and also fruit, that Abandonment is regarded as sâttvic.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 323.
When obligatory work is performed, O Arjuna, only because it ought to be done, leaving attachment and fruit, such relinquishment is regarded as Sâtvic.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 122. Bhagavad Gita 18.9.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 154. Bhagavad Gita 18.9.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 323. Bhagavad Gita 18.9.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 18.9: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/9/
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Bhagavad Gita 18.9
कार्यमित्येव यत्कर्म नियतं क्रियतेऽर्जुन ।
सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा फलं चैव स त्यागः सात्त्विको मतः ॥
“When prescribed action is performed, O Arguna! abandoning attachment and fruit also, merely because it ought to be performed, that is deemed (to be) a good abandonment.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 122, public domain)
“He who saying, "It ought to be done," performeth an ordained action, O Arjuna, abandoning attachment and also fruit, that Abandonment is regarded as sâttvic.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 154, public domain)
“When obligatory work is performed, O Arjuna, only because it ought to be done, leaving attachment and fruit, such relinquishment is regarded as Sâtvic.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 323, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/9/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 18.9?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 18 (Moksha Sannyasa Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026