Bhagavad Gita BG 5.12
Chapter 5, Verse 12 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम् । अयुक्तः कामकारेण फले सक्तो निबध्यते ॥
yuktah karma-phalam tyaktva shantim apnoti naishtikiim ayuktah kama-karena phale sakto nibadhyate
Meaning
The one united (in yoga), giving up the fruit of actions, attains ultimate peace. The unsteady one, driven by desire, attached to results, is bound.
Understanding
The decisive contrast: yuktah (the yogi) gives up karma-phala → achieves naisthiki shanti (ultimate, final peace — not temporary relief but permanent). Ayuktah (the non-yogi, the unsteady) driven by kama-kara (the compulsion of desire) is sakta (attached) to phala → nibadhyate (is bound). Same external world, same actions — the inner orientation of attachment vs. non-attachment determines bondage or freedom.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| युक्तः | yuktah | one united (in yoga), the yogi |
| नैष्ठिकीम् | naisthikiim | ultimate, final, supreme (peace) |
| अयुक्तः | ayuktah | the non-yogi, the unsteady, the undisciplined |
| कामकारेण | kama-karena | by the compulsion of desire |
| निबध्यते | nibadhyate | is bound, fettered, tied |
| कर्मफलम् | karma-phalam | the fruit of action / the result of work |
| त्यक्त्वा | tyaktvā | having abandoned / giving up |
| शान्तिम् | śāntim | peace / tranquility |
| आप्नोति | āpnoti | attains / achieves |
| फले | phale | in the fruit / in the result |
| सक्तः | saktaḥ | attached / clinging to |