योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय । सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā dhanaṃjaya | siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate ||
Do the work rooted in yoga, unattached. Equanimity in success and failure — that IS yoga.
Word by word (4)
- yoga-sthaḥ
- — established in yoga / rooted in union · From yoga (union, discipline) + stha (standing, abiding). The prefix yoga-stha indicates not occasional practice but a stable inner ground from which action arises — like a tree rooted deep that bends in wind without uprooting.
- saṅgaṃ tyaktvā
- — having abandoned attachment · Saṅga from sañj (to cling, to adhere). The tyaktvā (having abandoned) form indicates this is the prerequisite state before action, not an after-thought. Attachment to outcomes is what turns action into bondage.
- samatvaṃ yoga ucyate
- — equanimity is called yoga · Samatva from sama (equal, same) — a profound definition: yoga is not a technique or posture but the inner state of being unmoved by success or failure. This is the Gita's first direct definition of yoga, distinct from the later definition in V50.
- siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā
- — being equal in success and failure · Siddhi = success/accomplishment; asiddhi = failure/non-accomplishment. The dual case (both held together) shows equanimity is not indifference but a balanced inner stance that holds both outcomes with the same inner temperature.
Stay grounded in yoga, then act — let go of attachment, O Arjuna. Be the same whether you succeed or fail. That inner balance is what yoga actually means.
A modern analogy
A surgeon going into a high-risk operation: they prepare meticulously, focus completely, and operate with full skill — but they don't let their hands shake thinking 'what if I fail.' The stability of mind IS the yoga. The outcome follows from that.
Take with you
- Before starting any important task, pause and root yourself — not in the outcome, but in your intention.
- Equanimity is not 'not caring.' It is caring fully about the work while staying steady regardless of results.
- Attachment to success makes you timid; attachment to avoiding failure makes you reckless. Neither serves the work.
- Success and failure are weather. Your inner state is the ground — keep it stable regardless of weather.
This verse is the hinge of the entire Gita's practical teaching. V47 said 'your right is to action alone, not to its fruits.' V48 now explains HOW that is possible: by being yoga-sthaḥ — established in yoga — before acting. The sequence is crucial: root yourself → abandon attachment → then act → hold success and failure equally. The final phrase 'samatvaṃ yoga ucyate' is the Gita's first formal definition of yoga. It is not a definition of technique but of inner state — yoga is equanimity itself. Shankaracharya in his commentary emphasizes that saṅga (clinging) is the root of bondage: not action itself, but action sticky with desire for its fruit. Tilak (Gita Rahasya) stresses this verse as the philosophical foundation of karma-yoga: the warrior who acts from yoga-sthaḥ does not become entangled in the karma of outcomes because the ego-identification with results has been released. The word dhanaṃjaya ('winner of wealth') — one of Krishna's names for Arjuna — is significant here: even the greatest winner must learn that winning is not the ground of self-worth.
Advaita lens
From Shankaracharya's Advaita perspective, yoga-sthaḥ points to the ultimate recognition: the true Self (Atman) is never the doer (na kartā). When one is established in this recognition — even conceptually — action flows without the ego-knot of authorship. Samatva (equanimity) is thus not an achievement but a recognition: the witness-Self is by nature equal in all states. Siddhi and asiddhi are appearances in the field of Prakriti; the Atman is untouched by both. Equanimity is therefore the natural expression of non-dual insight.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti, yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi (act while established in yoga) reframes all action as a form of worship. Samatvaṃ yoga ucyate — equanimity IS yoga. The bhakta's equanimity is not indifference but the peace of a heart fully surrendered to the Divine. When you offer both success and failure to the Beloved, neither can disturb you — because both are the Beloved's gift. V48's 'abandonment of attachment' in the bhakti reading means: I do not cling to outcomes because the outcome belongs to Krishna. This is why V48 and V66 (sarva-dharmān parityajya) are the same teaching from different angles: equanimity in action (V48) and total surrender (V66) are both expressions of bhakti as the ground of all yoga.
Karma-Yoga lens
This verse is the full architecture of karma-yoga compressed into one shloka. Tilak saw it as the essence of the Gita's call to engaged action: you do not withdraw from the battlefield, you do not renounce your duty — you act from inner yoga, releasing the fruit. This is not indifference (udāsīnatā) but engaged action with a non-clinging inner posture. Vivekananda called this 'work as worship' — the action itself becomes the offering when the ego's stake in the result is surrendered.
Modern parallels
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of 'flow' captures samatvam partially: peak performance happens when the doer is absorbed in the action without self-monitoring. The Stoics (Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius) built an entire philosophy around the dichotomy of control: focus only on what is yours (the action, the intention), release what is not (the outcome). Modern sports psychology teaches 'process over outcome' — elite athletes learn to detach from the scoreboard and focus on each moment's task. All of these are partial applications of yoga-sthaḥ.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Dhananjaya, remain steadfast in yoga, do actions, giving up attachment. Remain equal in success and failure; for, equanimity is yoga. [1]
Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Dhananjaya, abandoning attachment, being the same in success and failure; for evenness of mind is called yoga. [4]
Perform thy duty unmoved by fear of any outcome, O Dhananjaya; abandoning attachment, with even mind in success and failure — this evenness of mind is called yoga. [6]
Perform thy task, O Prince! Put off all fear; Be equal-minded — good and evil, gain And loss — do all things for Me, without Self-seeking. In such Yog let action be. [7]
Perform action, O Dhananjaya, abandoning attachment, being equable in success or failure; equanimity is said to be yoga. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Your right is to act — never to the fruits. Don't act for results. Don't hide in inaction.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.
Surrendering all actions to Brahman, abandoning attachment — like a lotus leaf, sin never clings.
Who acts in duty without depending on fruit — that one is the true sannyāsī and yogī, not the fireless or the inactive.
Treat pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as equal — then engage. No sin follows from this.
Unable even to act for My sake? Then take refuge in Me, abandon all fruits of action — with self-restraint.