What does “do your duty without attachment to results” mean in practice?

care about doing it right, plan for good results — but don't let the outcome own your peace.

Gītā 2.47 says: your right is to action alone, never to its fruits; do not make the fruit your motive, and do not cling to inaction either. People often misread this as “don't care about results.” But a farmer still waters the field and a student still aims to pass. The point is where your heart rests.

Results depend on many things beyond you — other people, timing, luck, karma. Effort depends on you. When your peace hangs on outcomes, you swing between elation and despair and often work worse. When it rests on sincere effort, you can act boldly and recover quickly. The next verse names this evenness: samatva, “equanimity is yoga” (2.48).

The image the Gītā uses is a lotus leaf in water — fully in it, yet not wet (5.10). Devotional schools add: offer the result to God and receive whatever comes as prasāda.

Source: Bhagavad Gītā 2.47–2.48, 5.10 · Samatva: evenness of mind

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