Bhagavad-gītā 5.11
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि। योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वाऽऽत्मशुद्धये।।5.11।।
kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śhuddhaye
Devotees in the path of work perform action, only with body, mind, senses, and intellect, forsaking attachment, for the purification of the heart.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| kāyena | with the body |
| manasā | with the mind |
| buddhyā | with the intellect |
| kevalaiḥ | only |
| indriyaiḥ | with the senses |
| api | even |
| yoginaḥ | the yogis |
| karma | actions |
| kurvanti | perform |
| saṅgam | attachment |
| tyaktvā | giving up |
| ātma | of the self |
| śhuddhaye | for the purification |
Begin with the verse itself, then trace its movement through kāyena (with the body), yoginaḥ (the yogis), and śhuddhaye (for the purification). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to renunciation within responsible work. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 5.11.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Compare renunciation of work with renunciation of attachment and examine the chapter’s account of inner freedom.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Devotees in the path of work perform action, only with body, mind, senses
- 2
intellect, forsaking attachment, for the purification of the heart
- 3
kāyena: with the body
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 5.11, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 5.11 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 5.11 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 5.11 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 5.11, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
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