Verse 2.49

दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय ।

बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणाः फलहेतवः ॥

2.49

Transliteration

dūreṇa hyavaraṃ karma buddhiyogāddhanañjaya |

buddhau śaraṇamanviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phalahetavaḥ ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

Far lower than the Yoga of wisdon is action, O Arjuna. Seek thou refuge in wisdom; wretched are they whose motive is the fruit.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

by far
indeed
inferior
action
to the yoga of understanding
O Dhananjaya

in understanding
refuge
seek
pitiable
those driven by fruits

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

Krishna contrasts action driven by desire for results with buddhi-yoga, the yoga of understanding. The first is far inferior. He urges Arjuna to take refuge in understanding, and calls those who act only for results kṛpaṇa, pitiable or small-minded. The word recalls Arjuna's own description of himself at the start of the chapter, where he spoke of kārpaṇya, poverty of spirit. The verse gently suggests that the remedy for that condition lies in a clearer understanding of why one acts.