मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो मद्भक्तः सङ्गवर्जितः। निर्वैरः सर्वभूतेषु यः स मामेति पाण्डव ॥
matkarmakṛnmatparamo madbhaktaḥ saṅgavarjitaḥ| nirvairaḥ sarvabhūteṣu yaḥ sa māmeti pāṇḍava ||
Do My work, hold Me supreme, be My devotee, attachment-free, without enmity toward all — such a one comes to Me!
Word by word (3)
- mat-karma-kṛt mat-paramaḥ mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ
- — Doer of My work, having Me as the Supreme, My devotee, free from attachment · Mat-karma-kṛt = doer of My work (mat = Mine/My; karma = work/action; kṛt = doer; mat-karma-kṛt = one who performs action for Krishna's sake = the karma-yoga definition: action offered to the divine). Mat-paramaḥ = one for whom I am the Supreme (mat = Me; parama = highest, supreme; mat-parama = one whose highest aim is Me = the jñāna-yoga's culmination in single-pointed focus). Mad-bhaktaḥ = My devotee (mad = Me; bhakta = devoted; bhakti's definition: the one who is devoted to Me). Saṅga-varjitaḥ = free from attachment (saṅga = attachment, contact; varjita = excluded, abandoned; the negative qualification: the bhakta who has released all binding attachments). The first four qualities are the POSITIVE architecture of the bhakti-practitioner: do My work + hold Me supreme + be devoted + be unattached.
- nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava
- — Without enmity toward all beings — such a one comes to Me, O Pāṇḍava! · Nirvairaḥ = without enmity (nir = without; vaira = enmity, hostility, hatred; nirvairah = enmity-free). Sarva-bhūteṣu = toward all beings (sarva = all; bhūteṣu = locative plural of bhūta = beings, creatures = toward/among all beings). Yaḥ = who. Saḥ = that one. Mām eti = comes to Me (eti = 3rd person singular present of √i = to go; mām eti = goes to Me = comes to Me = reaches Me). Pāṇḍava = O son of Pāṇḍu (Arjuna). The FIFTH qualification: no enmity toward ANY being (sarva-bhūteṣu = to all beings without exception). This is the cosmic ethical requirement: the bhakta who works for Krishna, holds Krishna supreme, is devoted to Krishna — ALSO extends that love's natural consequence to all beings (sarva-bhūteṣu = not just to devotees or humans but to ALL creatures). The final word pāṇḍava = Arjuna = the entire teaching is addressed to this specific human being, in this specific moment, on this specific battlefield.
- mat-karma-kṛt mat-paramo mad-bhaktaḥ — the five-qualification formula
- — The complete bhakti-practitioner: five essential qualities · V55 gives the five-qualification formula for the one who 'comes to Me': (1) mat-karma-kṛt = dedicated action (do Krishna's work = karma-yoga's offering); (2) mat-paramaḥ = single-pointed aim (Me as supreme = jñāna-yoga's focus); (3) mad-bhaktaḥ = devoted to Me (bhakti-yoga's orientation); (4) saṅga-varjitaḥ = detachment (no binding attachments = the Gita's universal requirement); (5) nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu = universal non-enmity (love extended to all beings = ethical completeness). The first three are positive qualities (do + aim + be devoted); the last two are negative (be free from = attachment; be free from = enmity). Together = the complete portrait of the bhakta. This is Ch.11's final word — after 55 verses of the most overwhelming spiritual experience in the Gita, the conclusion is: do this. Five simple qualities. The cosmic vision of kālo'smi and the viśva-rūpa culminates in: nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu (without enmity toward any being).
The final verse of Ch.11: five qualifications of the true bhakta who reaches Krishna — (1) acts for Krishna, (2) holds Krishna as supreme aim, (3) is devoted to Krishna, (4) is free from binding attachments, (5) has no enmity toward any living being. That person comes to Me.
A modern analogy
After 55 verses of the most overwhelming divine revelation imaginable — the cosmic form that destroyed cosmic forces — the conclusion is: be of service, keep love at the center, let go of what binds you, and wish no harm to anyone. The cosmic ends in the ordinary-profound.
Sit with this: The 5th quality — nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu (no enmity toward any being) — follows four devotion-centered qualities. Is universal non-enmity a prerequisite for, a consequence of, or the same thing as devotion? Can you be truly devoted to the Divine while holding enmity toward any of its creatures?
V55 is the capstone of Ch.11 and one of the most important verses in the Gita. It consolidates the three yogas (karma + jñāna + bhakti) into five qualities applied to a single practitioner. The integration: mat-karma-kṛt (karma-yoga = dedicated action) + mat-paramaḥ (jñāna-yoga = single-pointed knowledge-aim) + mad-bhaktaḥ (bhakti-yoga = devotion) + saṅga-varjitaḥ (vairāgya = renunciation) + nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu (universal ahiṃsā = ethical extension to all beings). The five together = the complete human being integrated through practice: active, focused, devoted, detached, and compassionate. V55's final word 'pāṇḍava' = Arjuna — the teaching always returns to the specific human being. The cosmic vision was FOR this person; the five qualities are FOR this person to live out.
Advaita lens
V55's nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu (without enmity toward all beings) is the Advaitic ethics of non-duality made practical. If all beings ARE the divine (sarvaṃ khalvidam brahma = all this is Brahman), then enmity toward any being is enmity toward the Absolute itself. The Advaitic practitioner sees the same ātman in all beings (sarvabhūtastham ātmānam, Ch.6.29) and therefore cannot hold vaira (enmity) toward any of them without contradicting their own deepest recognition. V55's final qualification = Advaita's ethics: seeing Brahman in all = natural non-enmity toward all.
Bhakti lens
V55 is the Gita's most complete formulation of the bhakti-practitioner's character. The five qualities together form a portrait: this person lives in service (mat-karma), holds the divine as ultimate (mat-parama), is in loving devotion (mad-bhakta), is free from grasping (saṅga-varjita), and loves all beings without exception (nirvairah sarva-bhūteṣu). This final quality — universal non-enmity — is bhakti's most radical gift: the love that begins as directed (to Krishna) flows naturally to ALL of Krishna's creation. The Gita's bhakti is not sectarian but cosmic: the devotee who loves Krishna fully cannot hate any being Krishna has made.
Karma-Yoga lens
V55's mat-karma-kṛt (doer of My work) is karma-yoga's final expression. Not doing YOUR work (sva-karma) for yourself — but MY work (mat-karma) for Me. The subtle shift: earlier in the Gita, Arjuna was told to do sva-dharma (own-duty) without attachment to results. V55 goes further: the action is now MAT-karma (My action) = action understood as divine service from the beginning. This is the highest karma-yoga: not 'do your duty without attachment' but 'do My work because you love Me.' The action flows from love (bhakti) rather than from duty (dharma). The karma-yoga has been transformed by bhakti into seva (loving service).
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
He who does works for Me, who looks on Me as the Supreme, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who is without hatred for any being — he comes to Me, O Pandava. [1]
He who does work for Me alone and has Me for his goal, is devoted to Me, is freed from attachment, and bears enmity towards no creature — he entereth into Me, O Pandava. [4]
Who doeth all for Me; who findeth Me In all; adoreth always; loveth all Which I have made, and Me, for Love's sole end — That man, Arjuna! unto Me doth wend. [7]
He who worships Me with devotion without any attachment to the fruits of action, who regards Me as the Supreme, who is freed from enmity towards any creature, he enters Me, O Pandava. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Not hating, friendly, compassionate, without 'mine' or 'I', equal in pain and joy, forgiving — the dear devotee!
Mind-in-Me, devotee, worshiper, bow to Me — you will come to Me; truly I promise, you are dear to Me.
Fix mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, bow to Me — thus, with Me as supreme goal, you shall come to Me.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Therefore: do your required action without attachment — this is the path that leads to the Supreme.
Sannyāsa = abandoning desire-motivated action; tyāga = abandoning fruits of ALL action — say the learned.