Thy right is to the work, not to its fruit; the fruit of action is not thy concern
The Gita's most quoted verse reveals each translator's core priority. Arnold poeticizes: 'Thy right is to the work, not to its fruit'--foregrounding individual nobility with the intimate 'Thy.' Wilkins, the first Englishman to render it, writes 'Let the motive be in the deed, and not in the event'--Enlightenment-era language of rational motivation that reframes karma-yoga as proto-Kantian ethics. Telang stays closest to the Sanskrit structure: 'Your business is with action alone, not with the fruit of action.' Swarupananda, from Shankara's tradition, emphasizes psychological discipline: 'Your right is to work only; but never to the fruits thereof'--the 'never' carrying Advaitic absolutism absent from the Sanskrit 'ma' (simple prohibition).
Krishna has explained that the soul is eternal and indestructible — grief for the body is misplaced. Now he lays down the foundational principle of Karma Yoga: act from duty, not from desire for results. This verse is the philosophical cornerstone of the entire text.
Perhaps the Gita’s single most famous verse. Quoted by Gandhi, Oppenheimer, and countless others as the essence of selfless action.
