Verse 3.8

नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः ।

शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः ॥

3.8

Transliteration

niyataṃ kuru karma tvaṃ karma jyāyo hyakarmaṇaḥ |

śarīrayātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyedakarmaṇaḥ ||

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

Translation

Do thou perform (thy) bounden duty, for action is superior to inaction and even the maintenance of the body would not be possible for thee by inaction.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

prescribed
do
action
you
action
is better
indeed
than inaction

maintenance of the body
even
and
your
not
would be possible
without action

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

Explanation

Krishna gives Arjuna a direct instruction: perform your prescribed action, niyataṃ karma, the duty that belongs to your role. Action is better than inaction. He adds a down-to-earth reason: without any action, one could not even keep the body alive. The verse answers Arjuna's opening question plainly. Whatever the value of knowledge, it does not cancel the need to act. Some traditions take niyata to mean regular religious duties, others the duties of one's station, but in context it clearly points to Arjuna's task as a warrior.