Bhagavad Gita · Karma YogaChapter 3, Shloka 9 (3.9)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
यज्ञार्थात् कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः
तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर
॥ 3.9 ॥
yajñārthāt karmaṇo'nyatra loko'yaṃ karmabandhanaḥ
tadarthaṃ karma kaunteya muktasaṅgaḥ samācara
Translation
"Apart from action done for yajña, this world is bound by action. Therefore, O Kaunteya, giving up attachment, perform action well for that (yajña) alone."
Interpretation
Two kinds of action. (1) Yajñārtha — for yajña/for Ishvara; (2) anyatra — for one's own selfish ends. The second binds; the first does not — on one condition: mukta-saṅgaḥ, giving up attachment.
Shankaracharya: yajña = Ishvara; action done for Ishvara is not bondage. Through other actions the world comes into karma-bandhana (the bondage of action). Mukta-saṅgaḥ = karma-phala-saṅga-varjitaḥ — free from attachment to the fruit of action.
Acharya Ramanuja: work done for yajña and the like (such as earning money) does not bind; ātmīya-prayojana-śeṣa-bhūte karmaṇi — work done only for one's own purpose binds. And the result: worshipped through such unattached yajña, ārādhitaḥ parama-puruṣaḥ — the Supreme Person (the Lord) cuts away the beginningless impressions of karma and avyākula-ātmāvalokanaṃ dadāti — grants a calm vision of the self.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.