कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोsस्त्वकर्मणि

कर्मणि = in work एव=only अधिकारः=right ते=your मा =not फलेषु= in the fruit कदाचन= at anytime
मा=not कर्मफलहेतु=purpose of fruit of action भूः=be मा=not ते=your सङ्ग=attachment अस्तु=let there be अकर्मणि=inaction.

The most popular shloka has suffered misinterpretation owing to various reasons. Probably it all started from an archaic translation of Sanskrit into English. Later it was mauled by the popularity cult --replete with posters and smart one-liners. The common interpretation which you find pasted on walls, wallpapers, under the glass table and in such places is "Karma kar. Phal ki iccha na kar." In English, this popular meaning may be stated as "Do your duty and desire not the fruit of action." It is akin to shutting one's eyes and leaping off from the Trump Tower in Manhattan in the hope of reaching the sun!

It is indeed unfortunate that very few people have dared to translate the shloka word for word and bring out the correct interpretation. Thankfully, the commentaries of some great men like Sivananda, Chinmayananda and Maheshyogi are eminently readable and analytical. That is why it is very important to read the commentaries of great saints on the Gita.

Only a very stupid person would do action without thinking of or anticipating the fruits of action. Simple logic says --look before you leap. Why, even an animal's actions are made with a view to reach the plausible expected result. Is anybody in a position, or enjoying the luxury, to turn a blind eye to the expected result of action. Why would Lord Krishna give such a foolish advice to Arjuna who is already in a state of despondency.

There are two aspects to the shloka. One is on the rights of a person. If you do something, you jolly well be aware of the consequences. The second aspect is the domain of action or your sphere of influence. It is important that one is aware of both.

Another very important aspect is that of bondage. Bondage is something which is present in the ordinary state of thought process that most of us earthly mortals live in. Bondage cannot be wished away. But, any right thinking person can exercise his discretion as to how much rope he gives to bondage to control his life. Some kinds of actions are liable to cause out-of-proportion bondage. Normally these actions in the scale of norms are either too high or too low. Thus highly fashionable and highly undignified actions are justified equally vociferously. Notice the way a criminal justifies his actions and nurtures his rogue image like his own baby. Willy- nilly he is creating a bondage to the result of his actions. As you would see, the very fact that he is justifying his crime shows the attachment he has for it. Whatever the psychologists of today may say, it cannot be denied that there is an attachment 'raag' for the crimes. The same way the actions high on the list of norms are likely to result in attachment. It is common to see the self righteousness among people who are regular in worship. Alongwith this attachment (raag) there is a feeling of aversion or dislike (dvesh) which comes up for things that do not qualify for the former. The two often appear simultaneously like light and shade. Both raag and dvesh are hurdles in the path of spirituality.

For most people, success is owed to one's personal efforts and failures are attributed to the miserly behaviour of the Almighty who only dispenses ill-luck and is forever testing us on the scaffold. This is because the first aspect of the shloka has been misunderstood or not adhered to. Our actions should be at least reasonably directed towards the desired result. Whether we finally get the result or not is a different point altogether. But, ab initio, the action should be well placed.

Let us take the example of dropping a glass tumbler filled with water. The obvious result would be that the glass has cracked and the water has been spilled. If you choose not to drop it, the glass tumbler, alongwith its content will remain intact. Now mull over this. There is right to choose -- whether to drop the tumbler or not. But there is no right to alter the result of the action. Once dropped, the tumbler SHALL break and water SHALL spill. If not dropped, then the tumbler and the water SHALL remain intact. So, the 'adhikaar 'is on exercising the choice of dropping the tumbler or not. There is no 'adhikaar ' on the result that follows. We can safely throw away the smart posters, 'Karma kar, phal ki icchaa na kar.'

There is nothing wrong in expecting the fruit of action, but what is not correct is the bondage to the fruit. Bondage to something occurs when that thing becomes a focal point of further action. There is nothing wrong in making money, making good sum of money. But the moment money becomes the base for making more money, involving your mind into it for long hours, sacrificing some other factors or relationships in life, then , remember , the money is making you dance on its palm, you are almost a puppet and what you are experiencing is a 'bondage'.

The shloka just before and just after this one are very important. Shloka Forty six instructs the reader as to the frame of mind that should be adopted. Fighting with ego is different from handling the ego. Why fight with the ego? Just understand the problem and handle it.

The second line of the great shloka is sensitively poised to create a desire for inaction. Not only that, many a wiseman would justify inaction by fallacious arguments. Krishna's fear of a person falling into this trap is again manifest in the last chapter of the Bhagvad Gita.Krishna said:

काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं संन्यासं कवयो विदुः ।
सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणाः ।। BG Ch 18. 2

काम्यानां = of desireful कर्मणां = of action न्यासं = the renunciation संन्यासं = renunciation कवयो = sages विदुः =understand सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं =abandonment of fruit of action प्राहुः =declare त्यागं= abandonment विचक्षणाः = the wise.

Some sages understand Sannyaasa as the giving up of all actions motivated by desire; and other thinkers declare that Tyaaga consists in relinquishing the fruit of all actions. 18-2.

त्याज्यं दोषवदित्येके कर्म प्राहुमनीषिणाः ।
यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यमिति चापरे ।। BG Ch 18. 3

त्याज्यं= should be abandoned दोषवत् =as an evil एके =some कर्म = action प्राहु =declare मनीषिणाः = philosophers, wise men. यज्ञदानतपःकर्म = acts of sacrifice, charity, austerity न = not त्याज्यं =should be abandoned इति =thus च = and, अपरे = others.

Some wisemen declare that all actions contain a measure of evil, and is therefore worth giving up; while others say that acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not worth shunning.18-3.

Hence, to counter the possibility of people eulogising inaction shloka immediately after the famous shloka indicates the path that one must follow to exterminate inaction. From chapter 2 shloka 48 till the last chapter, the Lord has never let go this point because, the probability of succumbing to inaction is strong, indeed.

From the few points mentioned above, probably we would all agree that this is the most popular and the most misunderstood shloka.