Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2.47: Act Without Attachment

Context: where this teaching appears

The idea of a “yogi who works without attachment” is best known from the Bhagavad Gītā, the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna set on the battlefield in the Mahābhārata. Krishna frames the teaching as a practical doctrine for people who cannot or should not abandon their social roles. He contrasts external renunciation with an inner renunciation that leaves one free to act: perform your ordained duty but let go of clinging to results. The Gītā presents this across chapters, notably in verses like chapter 2.47 (about rights to action, not to fruits), chapter 3 (on action as yajña or offering), and chapter 5 (on the sameness of sannyāsa — renunciation — and karma-yoga when seen rightly).

Key terms to know

• dharma — ethical duty or role (family, profession, stage of life).
• karma — action; karmaphala — the fruit or result of action.
• niṣkāma karma — action without desire for personal reward (literally “without desire”).
• sannyāsa — formal renunciation of social ties and belongings.
• samatva — equanimity, equal-mindedness with respect to success and failure.

What Krishna actually teaches — a concise summary

Krishna does not ask Arjuna to stop acting. Rather, he asks him to act as a dedicated performer of duty while giving up attachment to the outcome. Practical features of that instruction include:

• Action must be done, because action sustains the world and fulfils social responsibility (dharma).
• Action should be offered, mentally, without egoistic claiming of results — framed as a kind of inner sacrifice or offering.
• The inner state of the doer matters: calm, self-controlled, and free from obsession with gains and losses (equanimity).
• Such a stance, Krishna says, leads to freedom (mokṣa) more reliably than mere outward withdrawal.

Why not simply renounce outwardly?

Krishna distinguishes two paths that may look similar from the outside. One is external withdrawal — giving up possessions and social roles. The other is inner withdrawal — giving up attachment while continuing action. He argues (for example in chapter 5) that inner renunciation of desire is superior because it addresses the root: the binding power of desire and ego. In Arjuna’s case, shirking his role as a warrior would be ethically wrong; performing it without attachment is the recommended solution.

What qualities mark a yogi who works without attachment?

• Samatva (equanimity): keeps steady under praise and blame, profit and loss.
• Nishkama intention: performs duty as an offering rather than to secure personal advantage.
• Self-awareness: watches the motives behind one’s acts and gently corrects selfish tendencies.
• Service orientation: regards work as service (seva or yajña), not merely self-advancement.
• Knowledge and discrimination: understands the difference between the transient results and the deeper Self (ātman), a classical insight in Gītā commentary.

How different traditions read this teaching

Gītā commentators from different schools read the same verses through varied lenses:

• In Advaita Vedānta (e.g., Śaṅkara), the emphasis is that inner renunciation aids discrimination (viveka) between the eternal Self and transient world, ultimately pointing to non-dual knowledge as the final release.
• In Viśiṣṭādvaita and Dvaita readings, commentators stress devotional surrender: action becomes free of bondage when offered to God, who is personal and responds to devotion.
• Bhakti traditions (Vaiṣṇava schools) often present the ideal as service to God — perform duties as offerings to Krishna or another chosen deity, and devotion transforms action into worship.
• In Śaiva or Smārta contexts the moral is similar: right action aligned with inner detachment is a path to purification and liberation; the deity or metaphysical emphasis may differ.

Practical ways people have traditionally cultivated this stance

• Daily actions offered mentally to the divine or to the common good (a short dedication before work).
• Performing duties carefully and competently while reflecting on impermanence of results.
• Disciplines such as meditation, study (svādhyāya), and simplified living to reduce craving.
• Participating in community duties and temple worship to reorient the ego toward service.

Note: some practices associated with classical paths (long fasts, intensive breathwork) can affect health; consult experienced teachers and medical professionals if you have concerns.

Common misunderstandings

• “Not caring” — the Gītā’s detachment is not indifference or passivity. Krishna advocates engaged, competent action.
• “Excuse for laziness” — avoidance of responsibility is not renunciation; abandoning duty is criticized in the text.
• “Only for ascetics” — the teaching is explicitly given to a householder-warrior (Arjuna), so it addresses lay life as well as ascetic life.

Why this teaching endures

The appeal lies in its balance: it affirms the moral necessity of acting in the world while offering a psychological and spiritual technique—detachment from results—to reduce suffering and bondage. Across centuries, poets, philosophers, and householders have found in Krishna’s words a pragmatic ethic that allows duty, family life, and devotion to coexist with a serious spiritual aim. Different schools adapt the core insight—act rightly, but give up selfish clinging—to their theological priorities, which is why the teaching remains alive across Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, Smārta and other living traditions.

Where to read further in primary texts

Look at the Bhagavad Gītā, especially chapter 2 (notably verse 2.47), chapter 3 (on selfless action and yajña), and chapter 5 (on renunciation and action). Commentaries by classical and modern interpreters show how the same lines can be read in diverse but coherent ways.