Chapter 3 · The yoga of action
Bhagavad Gita 3.8
Do your allotted work; action is better than inaction.
Shri Bhagavan
नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः ।
शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः ॥
niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyo hyakarmaṇaḥ / śarīrayātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyedakarmaṇaḥ
Do the work that is laid down for you, for action is better than inaction. Without action you could not even keep your own body going.
हिंदी · तुम अपने नियत कर्म को करो, क्योंकि कर्म अकर्म से श्रेष्ठ है। कर्म के बिना तो तुम्हारे शरीर का निर्वाह भी न हो सकेगा।
What it means
Do your allotted work; action is better than inaction.
Renunciation does not mean doing nothing. Even the body cannot be kept alive without action. Do the work that is yours to do.
This is the Trust’s own reading, written for this site. The verse above it is the text.
Where this verse stands
Why act?
Chapter 33.1–9
Arjuna sees tension between knowledge and action; Krishna denies that mere non-action is freedom.
This verse brings the movement toward its conclusion.
Common questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 3.8 mean?
Do your allotted work; action is better than inaction. Renunciation does not mean doing nothing. Even the body cannot be kept alive without action. Do the work that is yours to do.
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 3.8?
Shri Bhagavan. The speaker is taken from the text’s own उवाच line as transcribed, not inferred from the verse number.