Dishari Chatterjee

Interpretation of Desireless Action in Śrīmadbhagavadgītā

This paper focuses on Niṣkāma karma or desireless action in the light of Śrīmadbhagavadgītā. Gītā, despite being a holy book, is an ethical handbook as well. So Niṣkāma karma or desireless action truly brings out the essence of the Gītā and revolves around the notion of desire and human agency in action. The paper first introduces what desireless action is and how it becomes a central question in the Śrīmadbhagavadgītā. The problem lies in the very core of the concept of desirelessness in action, which is surprisingly the slogan of Anāsakta karma or Niṣkāma karma. The paper gradually progresses towards bringing a solution to the apparent contradiction that follows if ‘desireless action’ is considered in the literal sense of the term. Why Niṣkāma karma becomes the point of question is due to the very word ‘niskama’, which seems to be in an apparent contradiction with the word ‘karma’ or action. It is either Niṣkāma karma is possible, or it is not. But following Gītā, Niṣkāma karma is possible and becomes an ethical dictum mostly throughout all the chapters. To support the idea that desireless action is possible, I will provide three accounts of non-literal senses of the term Niṣkāma karma and will try to provide which of these three accounts gives the most plausible explanation. All the interpretations mentioned require explanations separately, and at the conclusion, I will provide my stand towards which interpretation is the most plausible one.