सक्ताः कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत ।कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसङ्ग्रहम् ॥
saktāḥ karmaṇy avidvāṃso yathā kurvanti bhārata |kuryād vidvāṃs tathāsaktaś cikīrṣur lokasaṅgraham ||
- सक्ताः · saktāḥ
- attached
- कर्मणि · karmaṇi
- in action
- अविद्वांसः · avidvāṃsaḥ
- the ignorant, the unwise
- यथा · yathā
- as, just as
- कुर्वन्ति · kurvanti
- they act
- भारत · bhārata
- O Bharata (Arjuna)
- कुर्यात् · kuryāt
- should act
- विद्वान् · vidvān
- the wise one
- तथा · tathā
- so, in the same way
- असक्तः · asaktaḥ
- unattached
- चिकीर्षुः · cikīrṣuḥ
- desiring to do, intending
- लोकसङ्ग्रहम् · lokasaṅgraham
- the welfare of the world
“As the ignorant act attached to action, O Bharata, so should the wise act, unattached, intending the welfare of the world.”
— Original plain-language translation
Same energy, different center: the ignorant work from craving, the wise with equal zeal but no clutching. The outer diligence matches; only the inner motive differs. Lokasaṅgraha replaces self-interest as the engine of effort.
— Reader's notes (original)