Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa now gives a powerful summary of karma-yoga. After explaining action, yajña, lokasaṅgraha, the difference between the ajñānī and jñānī, and the need to guide people gradually, he now tells Arjuna how to act.

The first requirement is adhyātmacetasā — with a mind guided by spiritual priority. We must be clear about the goal of life. Dharma, artha, and kāma have their place, but they are not the final goal. Mokṣa alone is the ultimate goal. This clarity is nitya-anitya-vastu-viveka: knowing the difference between the permanent and the impermanent. A karma-yogī does not reject worldly responsibilities, but uses them for spiritual growth.

Then Bhagavān says, mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi saṃnyasya — offer all actions to Me. This does not mean physically abandoning action. It means converting action into worship. Whatever we do — family duty, professional work, study, service, parenting, teaching, cooking, earning, helping, praying — can be done with īśvarārpaṇa-buddhi: “O Bhagavān, I offer this action to You.” Life itself becomes pūjā.

Next comes nirāśīḥ. This does not mean we should never plan or never have goals. Planning is necessary. Worry is the problem. We can plan carefully, but we must be ready to accept the actual result. Every action has many visible and invisible factors. We control only a small part. Therefore, karma-yoga requires preparedness: “I will do what is right, and I will receive the result as prasāda.”

Then comes nirmamaḥ — without possessiveness. When success comes, the usual tendency is to say, “I did everything.” When failure comes, we look for someone else to blame. Karma-yoga corrects this. We do not deny our effort, but we remember that our effort is only one factor among countless factors. Time, health, people, resources, circumstances, nature, and unseen grace all contribute. Therefore success should produce humility, not arrogance.

Finally, Bhagavān says vigatajvaraḥ — free from mental fever. Jvara means fever. Here it means stress, strain, anxiety, agitation, and inner heat. We may be disturbed as a doer when action is difficult, and disturbed as an experiencer when results are painful. Karma-yoga helps us reduce both. When we have spiritual priority, offer action, accept results, and remain humble, mental fever reduces naturally.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna: yudhyasva — fight. For Arjuna, the duty is battle. For us, it is the duty appropriate to our role. The teaching is not “avoid difficulty.” It is “perform the necessary duty as karma-yoga, without anxiety, ego, possessiveness, or mental fever.”