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Adhyāyas / Karma Yogaḥ / verse 25

Mūla — the verse

Gita Press numbering
सक्ताः कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत। कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्िचकीर्षुर्लोकसंग्रहम्
saktāḥ karmaṇyavidvānso yathā kurvanti bhārata kuryād vidvāns tathāsaktaśh chikīrṣhur loka-saṅgraham
Anuṣṭubh

Translation

Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣya

O scion of the Bharata dynasty, as the unenlightened people act with attachment to work, so should the enlightened person act, without attachment, desiring to prevent people from going astray.

हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda

हे भारत ! कर्म में आसक्त हुए अज्ञानीजन जैसे कर्म करते हैं वैसे ही विद्वान् पुरुष अनासक्त होकर, लोकसंग्रह (लोक कल्याण) की इच्छा से कर्म करे।।

Pronunciation — Vaamshii

from Vaamshii
सक्ता% कर्मण् यविद् वांसः
यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत
कुर्याद् विद्वांस् तथा ऽसक्तः
चिकीर् षुर् लोक सङ् ग्रहम्
॥ २५ ॥
Read each split group as one breath-unit; hyphens join pādas kept whole for the meter or a compound word. Symbols: # upadhmānīya (visarga before p/ph), % jihvāmūlīya (visarga before k/kh), ऽ avagraha (an elided a). Full method →

Word by word

padārtha
saktāḥattached
karmaṇiduties
avidvānsaḥthe ignorant
yathāas much as
kurvantiact
bhāratascion of Bharat (Arjun)
kuryātshould do
vidvānthe wise
tathāthus
asaktaḥunattached
chikīrṣhuḥwishing
loka-saṅgrahamwelfare of the world

Themes

from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad Gītā

Meaning — Questions & Solutions

from Q&A with KnA
3.25The wise and the fool; tathā-asakta (3.29).

To live as a “sane,” ordinary human in the world, the Wise one must appear to do the very same actions — but now subtly unattached (tathā, so-and-so, yet asakta, unattached) — purely for the general good. Such realised seers should never rush to debunk people's illusions and show them the raw truth outright; it may be wasted, or may even rebound. History gives many examples of Seers who were rebuked, abused, hounded and even tortured by the “sane” public for speaking the uncomfortable truth. So the wise one does better to keep silent, and to correct gently and gradually, if the others are willing.