टीका

Commentary

This verse draws a clear and compassionate contrast between two kinds of people: the yukta — one who is yoked, aligned, devoted — and the ayukta — one who is unaligned, driven by personal desire. The difference between them is not intelligence, talent, or circumstance. It is the one thing each chooses to hold or release: the fruit of their actions.

Yuktah — The Steadfast, Yoked One

Yuktah literally means “yoked” — connected, in union. It is the root of the English word “yoga.” The yukta is one who has entered into alignment with something larger than personal preference. He still acts — perhaps more vigorously than others — but he has released the claim to the result. He performs his duty and lets the action go, like an arrow released from a bow.

Naisthikeem Shaantim — Enduring Peace

The peace described here is naisthiki — from nishtha, meaning steadiness, resolve, firm foundation. This is not the peace of an afternoon without problems. It is a peace rooted so deep that nothing can disturb it. It is the fruit that grows naturally when action is freed from anxious clinging. The yogi acts fully, and because he holds nothing back from the action and claims nothing from the result, a profound stillness fills him.

The Bound One

The ayukta is “unsteady,” literally un-yoked — not connected to the deeper reality. He acts from kaamakaarena — impelled by personal desire, the craving for a specific outcome. And so he becomes sakta — sticky, attached — to the result. This attachment is what binds. Not the action, not the desire alone, but the clinging to results as though one’s wellbeing depends on them.

Historical Context

This verse is sometimes called the karma yoga formula in miniature: surrender the fruits, attain peace; cling to fruits, remain bound. It encapsulates the entire teaching of the second and third chapters in two lines. The Gita returns to this principle repeatedly because it is difficult to internalize — not intellectually, but experientially. The practice of releasing results while engaging fully is the work of a lifetime.