Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 40 (BG 2.40) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

2.40 न not? इह in this? अभिक्रमनाशः loss of effort? अस्ति is? प्रत्यवायः production of contrary results? न not? विद्यते is? स्वल्पम् very little? अपि even? अस्य of this? धर्मस्य duty? त्रायते protects? महतः (from) great? भयात् fear.Commentary If a religious ceremony is left uncompleted? it is a wastage as the performer cannot realise the fruits. But it is not so in the case of Karma Yoga because every action causes immediate purification of the heart.In agriculture there is uncertainty. The farmer may till the land? plough and sow the seed but he may not get a crop if there is no rain. This is not so in Karma Yoga. There is no uncertainty at all. Further? there is no chance of any harm coming out of it. In the case of medical treatment great harm will result from the doctors injudicious treatment if he uses a wrong medicine. But it is not so in the case of Karma Yoga. Anything done? however little it may be? in this path of Yoga? the Yoga of action? saves one from great fear of being caught in the wheel of birth and death. Lord Krishna here extols Karma Yoga in order to create interest in Arjuna in this Yoga.

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Modern

In the performance of sacred rituals and sacrifices as prescribed in the Vedas, just as in agriculture one must follow a proper sequence—tilling the soil, irrigating, sowing seeds, weeding, protecting the crops, and harvesting—otherwise loss is inevitable, so too must the prescribed rituals be performed in their correct order and manner. Without adherence to this sequence, the desired fruits of sacrifice cannot be obtained. Moreover, if one neglects the duties prescribed by the Vedas, this constitutes a transgression called *pratya­vaay* dosha—a fault whose inauspicious consequences the performer must inevitably experience. We see this principle operating in worldly affairs as well. In the material realm, there are countless examples: the misuse of medicine may cost a patient their very life. Due to such defects in the field of action, we cannot attain the fruits we desire. Here, Lord Sri Krishna offers assurance that the yoga of action—*karma yoga*—is entirely free from and protected against both these defects. Now He reveals the nature of this knowledge.