🔨 Action Is Better Than Inaction – Even Your Body Needs It! | Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Shloka 8 Explained

📜 श्लोक (Sanskrit)

नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः ।
शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः ॥ 8 ॥

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🔤 IAST Transliteration

niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥ
śarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ ॥ 8 ॥

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🇮🇳 हिन्दी अनुवाद (Hindi Translation)

तू नियत (नियत कर्तव्य) कर्म को अवश्य कर, क्योंकि कर्म अकर्म (निष्क्रियता) से श्रेष्ठ है। और निष्क्रिय रहने से तो तेरी शरीर-यात्रा (जीवन-निर्वाह) भी संभव नहीं हो सकती।

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🌐 English Translation

Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. Even the maintenance of your physical body would not be possible through inaction.

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🧠 व्याख्या (Detailed Explanation in Hindi)

इस श्लोक में श्रीकृष्ण अर्जुन को स्पष्ट रूप से आदेश देते हैं—“नियतं कर्म करो।” अर्थात्, जो कर्तव्य तुम्हारे लिए नियत है, उसे निष्काम भाव से करो। क्यों? क्योंकि:

1. कर्म करना अकर्म से श्रेष्ठ है।

2. निष्क्रिय रहने से तो शरीर का भी पोषण संभव नहीं है।

यहाँ श्रीकृष्ण केवल आध्यात्मिक दृष्टि से ही नहीं, व्यावहारिक दृष्टि से भी कर्म के महत्व को बता रहे हैं। यदि कोई व्यक्ति "मैं कुछ नहीं करूँगा" यह सोचकर बैठ जाए, तो वह न तो आत्मोन्नति कर सकता है, और न ही अपने शरीर का पालन।

"नियत कर्म" का अर्थ है—धर्मपूर्वक, अपने स्वभाव और सामाजिक भूमिका के अनुसार किया गया कार्य। अर्जुन एक क्षत्रिय है—उसका नियत कर्म है न्याय के लिए युद्ध करना। यदि वह इससे विमुख होगा, तो न केवल समाज का अहित होगा, बल्कि वह स्वयं भी पतन की ओर जाएगा।

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📖 Detailed Explanation in English

Krishna instructs Arjuna to perform his prescribed duty (niyataṁ karma), for action is always superior to inaction. Even at the most basic level, one cannot survive without action—even the body needs food, movement, care.

In the Gita, "niyata karma" refers to one's duties based on nature (svabhava), stage of life, and role in society. For Arjuna, that duty is to fight a righteous war. Refusing to act under the guise of renunciation would be a spiritual and moral failure.

Krishna is making a critical point: Renunciation doesn’t mean giving up action—it means giving up attachment to results. One should continue performing duties with detachment, not escapism.

This verse also counters the common spiritual misconception that doing nothing is equal to peace or purity. It is not. Real purity comes from selfless action.

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💡 Life Lessons / Practical Takeaways

• 🧠 Right action is better than avoiding action. Responsibility is a spiritual path when done selflessly.

• 🍽️ Even your body needs action to survive. Laziness or escapism is not spiritual growth.

• ⚔️ Do your duties according to your nature and role. Dharma is specific and practical.

• 💡 Renounce attachment, not responsibility. The Gita promotes action with wisdom, not withdrawal.

• 🧘‍♂️ Karma Yoga means transforming action into worship. Every duty can be spiritualized.

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🔚 Conclusion

Krishna is guiding Arjuna—and all of us—to understand that life cannot be lived without action, and therefore, we must learn to act consciously, ethically, and without attachment.

Karma is not the problem; attachment to karma is. The wise perform their duties, not because they crave results, but because it is the right thing to do.

This teaching is the very essence of Karma Yoga—the yoga of action, and a vital pillar of the Bhagavad Gita.