Bhagavad Gita 18.48 meaningLetting go — and standing up
In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it
“Every job has some problems, like every fire has some smoke. Don’t give up.”
What it means
“Don't abandon the work you were born for, even if it has flaws. Every undertaking has some flaw, as every fire has some smoke.”
The original Sanskrit
सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत् । सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृताः ॥
sahajaṃ karma kaunteya sadoṣamapi na tyajet sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnirivāvṛtāḥ
Translations
Literal translation
O son of Kunti, one should not give up the duty to which one is born, even though it be faulty. For all undertakings are surrounded with evil, as fire is with smoke.
Swami Gambhirananda
हिंदी अनुवाद
हे कौन्तेय ! दोषयुक्त होने पर भी सहज कर्म को नहीं त्यागना चाहिए; क्योंकि सभी कर्म दोष से आवृत होते है, जैसे धुयें से अग्नि।
Swami Tejomayananda
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Commentaries
How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.
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Keep reading · 18.49“Someone whose mind clings to nothing, who has mastered themselves and is free from craving, reaches the highest freedom from action through letting go.”