यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् ।यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥
yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat | yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva madarpaṇam ||
- यत् करोषि · yat karoṣi
- whatever you do
- यत् अश्नासि · yat aśnāsi
- whatever you eat
- यत् जुहोषि · yat juhoṣi
- whatever you offer in sacrifice
- ददासि · dadāsi
- you give
- यत् तपस्यसि · yat tapasyasi
- whatever austerity you practise
- कौन्तेय · kaunteya
- O son of Kunti
- तत् · tat
- that
- कुरुष्व · kuruṣva
- do
- मदर्पणम् · madarpaṇam
- as an offering to me
“Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give, whatever austerity you practise, O Kaunteya — do it as an offering to me.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT Turn eating, working, and giving into offerings and life feels lighter.
Five verbs gather the whole day — acting, eating, sacrificing, giving, enduring — into one gesture of offering. Ordinary life becomes liturgy without changing its shape. Renunciation here means redirection, not abandonment. Like cooking, cleaning and homework all counted as help when done for the family.
— Reader's notes (original)