नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते। स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात्॥
nehābhikrama-nāśo 'sti pratyavāyo na vidyate / svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt
No effort on this path is ever wasted — even a little progress protects you from great fear.
Word by word (4)
- nehābhikrama-nāśo 'sti
- — in this, no effort begun is lost / wasted · One of the Gita's most encouraging statements for spiritual beginners. Every step counts, permanently — unlike most endeavors where incomplete work has no value.
- pratyavāyo na vidyate
- — and there is no harmful reverse / setback
- svalpam apy asya dharmasya
- — even a little of this dharma
- trāyate mahato bhayāt
- — saves from great fear · 'Mahato bhayāt' — from great fear. The specific gift of Karma Yoga practice: existential fear dissolves as equanimity deepens.
'In this path — Karma Yoga — no effort is wasted, and there is no harmful setback. Even a little of this dharma saves one from great fear.'
A modern analogy
With most endeavors, if you don't finish, the partial effort may have no value. A half-built bridge isn't useful. A half-cooked meal isn't good. But Karma Yoga is different: every step on this path — however small — accumulates and carries over. No effort is lost. Even a small degree of equanimity, even a moment of acting without attachment — it protects you from fear in proportion to its depth.
Take with you
- 'Abhikrama-nāśaḥ' — no waste of effort begun. Every step on the path of equanimous action counts, permanently.
- 'Svalpam api' — even a little. This is one of the Gita's most encouraging statements: you don't need to perfect it. Start where you are.
- 'Mahato bhayāt trāyate' — protects from great fear. The specific benefit of Karma Yoga: freedom from existential fear.
Verse 40 answers an objection: what if you start practicing Karma Yoga but don't complete the path in this lifetime? Is the effort wasted? The answer is no: 'nehābhikrama-nāśo 'sti' — no waste of the effort begun. The tradition holds that spiritual progress carries across lifetimes. This is why V40 is considered one of the most encouraging verses for spiritual beginners: the path is designed for those who cannot complete it in a single lifetime. Any step taken is a permanent gain.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
In this there is no waste of the unfinished, and there is no destruction; even a little of this dharma frees one from great fear. [4]
In this path there is no waste of effort, nor is there any harm; even a little of this righteousness saves from great fear. [6]
In this path, effort is never wasted and no obstacle prevails; even a little of this knowledge protects one from great fear. [7]
In this path, there is no waste of effort begun, and there is no harm. Even a little of this dharma preserves one from great fear. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
O Pārtha — no destruction for that one, neither here nor hereafter. For never does any doer of good come to an evil end.
Past practice carries the yogi forward involuntarily — even the yoga-inquirer surpasses the Vedic ritualist.
Unmoved in sorrow, ungreedy in joy, free from passion, fear, and anger — that is the steady sage.
Even the wise are confused about action vs. inaction. I will explain — knowing this frees you from all wrong.
One with no ego-doer-sense, whose buddhi is untainted — even while killing all these beings, kills not, is not bound.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.