Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa now gives the heart of karma-yoga. In the previous verse, he said, “Do your niyata karma.” Now he explains how that action must be done so that it becomes spiritually purifying rather than binding.

The key word is yajña. Here yajña does not mean only a fire ritual. It means a life of offering, worship, contribution, reverence, and harmony. When work is done for Bhagavān, for dharma, for the welfare of the whole, and with an attitude of contribution, that action becomes yajña. When work is done only for ego, possession, enjoyment, control, or personal gain, the same action becomes bondage.

Action itself is neutral. It can bind or liberate depending on how it is handled. Food cooked with selfishness can strengthen ego; food cooked as service can become worship. Earning money with greed can bind; earning honestly and sharing can purify. Speaking can hurt; speaking kindly can heal. The difference is not merely the outer action, but the attitude behind it.

A yajña-life also means recognizing that we are not isolated individuals. We receive endlessly from the world: air, water, earth, sunlight, food, parents, teachers, society, scriptures, culture, and countless people whose names we do not know. Since we receive, we must also contribute. If we only take and do not give back, we disturb the harmony of life. If we live as contributors, our life becomes an offering.

Therefore, Bhagavān says: do action for yajña. Be muktasaṅgaḥ — free from attachment. Do not act with the tight feeling “This is only for me, my comfort, my name, my success.” Act as an offering. Then karma becomes karma-yoga.