Chapter 3, Verse 5 · Inevitability of Action
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् ।कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥
Na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛtKāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ
No one can remain without action even for a moment. Everyone is helplessly made to act by the qualities of nature.
Chapter 3, Verse 21 · Leadership by Example
यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः ।स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥
Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥSa yat pramāṇaṃ kurute lokas tad anuvartate
Whatever a great person does, ordinary people follow. Whatever standard he sets, the world follows.
Chapter 3, Verse 27 · Ego and Doership
प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।अहंकारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥
Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥAhaṃkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate
All actions are carried out by the modes of nature. But the fool who is deluded by ego thinks: "I am the doer."
Chapter 3, Verse 35 · Svadharma
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् ।स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥
Śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitātSva-dharme nidhanaṃ śreyaḥ para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ
Better is one's own dharma, though imperfectly performed, than the dharma of another well performed. Better is death in one's own dharma — the dharma of another is fraught with danger.
Chapter 3, Verse 8 · Act — Inaction is Not an Option
नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः ।शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः ॥
Niyataṃ kuru karma tvaṃ karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥŚarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ
Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. Even the maintenance of your body is not possible through inaction.
Chapter 3, Verse 16 · The Wheel of Dharma
एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह यः ।अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति ॥
Evaṃ pravartitaṃ cakraṃ nānuvartayatīha yaḥAghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṃ Pārtha sa jīvati
O Arjuna, one who does not follow the cycle of sacrifice established in the Vedas lives a life of sin — living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain.
Chapter 3, Verse 19 · Detached Action
तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर ।असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुषः ॥
Tasmād asaktaḥ satataṃ kāryaṃ karma samācaraAsakto hy ācaran karma param āpnoti pūruṣaḥ
Therefore, without attachment, always perform the duty that should be done — for by performing action without attachment, one reaches the Supreme.
Chapter 3, Verse 30 · Surrender and Act
मयि सर्वाणि कर्माणि संन्यस्याध्यात्मचेतसा ।निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः ॥
Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasyādhyātma-cetasāNirāśīr nirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ
Surrendering all your actions to Me, with your mind fixed on the Self, free from hope and egoism — fight, freed from your fever.