कर्म - karma

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Karma is among the most widely used Yoga terms. This entry reads it in three texts chosen as a cross-section of Yoga: the Yogasūtra, Yoga built on the Sāṅkhya framework; the Bhagavadgītā, earlier in time, for the Vedāntic view of Yoga; and the Haṭhayogapradīpikā, for the practice and therapeutic tradition. Current explanations of the word include the following.

Source	Explanation of karma
Wikipedia[1]	Action, work or deed and its effect or consequences; in Indian religions, a principle of cause and effect by which the intent and actions of an individual influence his or her future.
The Yoga Institute, Santacruz[2]	Presented through Karma Yoga: work performed with the bhāva of sevā, the attitude of service.
Integral Yoga Magazine[3]	Karma Yoga as the selfless offering of all inner and outer activities as a sacrifice to the Lord; the attitude with which work is done, not the work itself, decides whether it binds or liberates.
The Art of Living[4]	Karma means simply ‘action’; it is classified as sañcita (accumulated), prārabdha (now bearing fruit) and āgāmi (to be produced in future).
Isha Foundation[5]	Karma described as ‘a certain amount of information’, an imprint carried by the individual from past action.
Common Yoga Protocol, Ministry of Ayush[6]	Ṣaṭkarma as detoxification procedures, clinical in nature, which help remove toxins accumulated in the body; yukta-karma listed among widely practised sādhanās.

These explanations are not reconciled here. The entry sets out what the three texts say about karma, read through derivation, lexicon and the classical commentaries — Vyāsa on the Yogasūtra, Śaṅkara on the Gītā and Brahmānanda’s Jyotsnā on the Haṭhayogapradīpikā. Explanations offered in the name of Yoga that do not fit this framework are considered, with respect, at the end.

Etymology

Karma (stem karman) derives from the root √kṛ, listed in the Dhātupāṭha as:

डुकृञ् करणे
ḍukṛñ karaṇe — in the sense of doing, making (tanādigaṇa, ubhayapadī)

The Uṇādi suffix manin is added (sarvadhātubhyo manin), and the root vowel takes guṇa (ṛ → ar):

कृ + मनिन् = कर्मन् → कर्म
kṛ + manin = karman → karma (nominative singular, neuter)

The derivative statement (vigraha) is: क्रियते इति कर्म
kriyate iti karma — ‘that which is done is karma’.

In grammar, Pāṇini defines the karma-kāraka:

कर्तुरीप्सिततमं कर्म ॥ १.४.४९ ॥kartur īpsitatamaṃ karma ॥ 1.4.49 ॥
That which the agent most desires to reach through the action is karma (the object).

From its formation, therefore, karma denotes both the doing and what the doing brings about. This double reference underlies the usages below.

Lexicon

The Amarakośa (Saṃkīrṇavarga) gives kriyā as a synonym:

कर्म क्रिया ...
karma kriyā … (Amarakośa 3.2.1)

Kriyā, from the same root, means action, rite or procedure. The Yogasūtra names its preparatory discipline kriyāyoga (YS 2.1); the Haṭhayogapradīpikā names its cleansing procedures ṣaṭ-karma. The root is shared; the uses are distinct.

The śāstras also assign karma technical senses: the object of an action in Vyākaraṇa; motion, one of the padārthas, in Vaiśeṣika (utkṣepaṇam avakṣepaṇam ākuñcanaṃ prasāraṇaṃ gamanam iti karmāṇi, Vaiśeṣikasūtra 1.1.7); and the enjoined rite in Mīmāṃsā. The Yoga texts add their own.

Textual Occurrences

Yogasūtra

Karma occurs in five sūtras, one in each of the first three pādas and two in the fourth, and always with kleśa, vipāka or āśaya.[7]

Samādhipāda

क्लेशकर्मविपाकाशयैरपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः ॥ १.२४ ॥

kleśakarmavipākāśayair aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣaviśeṣa īśvaraḥ ॥ 1.24 ॥

Īśvara is a distinct Puruṣa, untouched by afflictions, actions, their fruition and their residues.

Vyāsa-bhāṣyam: अविद्यादयः क्लेशाः । कुशलाकुशलानि कर्माणि । तत्फलं विपाकः । तदनुगुणा वासना आशयाः ।avidyādayaḥ kleśāḥ. kuśalākuśalāni karmāṇi. tatphalaṃ vipākaḥ. tadanuguṇā vāsanā āśayāḥ. Avidyā and the rest are the afflictions. Actions are the meritorious and the unmeritorious. Their fruit is vipāka. The latent impressions that conform to that fruit are the āśayas.

Sādhanapāda

क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः ॥ २.१२ ॥

kleśamūlaḥ karmāśayo dṛṣṭādṛṣṭajanmavedanīyaḥ ॥ 2.12 ॥

The reservoir of karma (karmāśaya), rooted in the afflictions, is to be experienced in the present birth or in births not yet seen.

Vyāsa-bhāṣyam: तत्र पुण्यापुण्यकर्माशयः कामलोभमोहक्रोधप्रभवः । tatra puṇyāpuṇyakarmāśayaḥ kāmalobhamohakrodhaprabhavaḥ. The karmic reservoir, meritorious and unmeritorious, arises from desire, greed, delusion and anger.

Vibhūtipāda

सोपक्रमं निरुपक्रमं च कर्म तत्संयमादपरान्तज्ञानमरिष्टेभ्यो वा ॥ ३.२२ ॥

sopakramaṃ nirupakramaṃ ca karma tatsaṃyamād aparāntajñānam ariṣṭebhyo vā ॥ 3.22 ॥

Karma is either fast-maturing (sopakrama) or slow-maturing (nirupakrama). By saṃyama on it, or from portents, arises knowledge of the time of death.

Vyāsa-bhāṣyam: आयुर्विपाकं कर्म द्विविधं सोपक्रमं निरुपक्रमं च । तत्र यथार्द्रं वस्त्रं वितानितं लघीयसा कालेन शुष्येत् तथा सोपक्रमम् । āyurvipākaṃ karma dvividhaṃ sopakramaṃ nirupakramaṃ ca. tatra yathārdraṃ vastraṃ vitānitaṃ laghīyasā kālena śuṣyet tathā sopakramam. Karma whose fruition is the life-span is of two kinds, sopakrama and nirupakrama. As a wet cloth spread out dries in a short time, so is sopakrama karma.

Kaivalyapāda

कर्माशुक्लाकृष्णं योगिनस्त्रिविधमितरेषाम् ॥ ४.७ ॥

karmāśuklākṛṣṇaṃ yoginas trividham itareṣām ॥ 4.7 ॥

The karma of the yogin is neither white nor black; that of others is threefold.

Vyāsa-bhāṣyam: चतुष्पदी खल्वियं कर्मजातिः । कृष्णा शुक्लकृष्णा शुक्ला अशुक्लाकृष्णा चेति । ... अशुक्लाकृष्णा संन्यासिनां क्षीणक्लेशानां चरमदेहानाम् ।catuṣpadī khalv iyaṃ karmajātiḥ. kṛṣṇā śuklakṛṣṇā śuklā aśuklākṛṣṇā ceti. … aśuklākṛṣṇā saṃnyāsināṃ kṣīṇakleśānāṃ caramadehānām. Karma is of four kinds: black, white-and-black, white, and neither-white-nor-black. … The neither-white-nor-black belongs to renunciants whose afflictions are exhausted and who are in their final body.

ततः क्लेशकर्मनिवृत्तिः ॥ ४.३० ॥

tataḥ kleśakarmanivṛttiḥ ॥ 4.30 ॥

Thence [from dharmamegha samādhi, YS 4.29] follows the cessation of afflictions and karma.

Vyāsa-bhāṣyam: कुशलाकुशलाश्च कर्माशयाः समूलघातं हता भवन्ति । क्लेशकर्मनिवृत्तौ जीवन्नेव विद्वान् विमुक्तो भवति ।kuśalākuśalāś ca karmāśayāḥ samūlaghātaṃ hatā bhavanti. kleśakarmanivṛttau jīvann eva vidvān vimukto bhavati. The karmic reservoirs, meritorious and unmeritorious, are destroyed root and all. When afflictions and karma cease, the knower is liberated while yet living.

Bhagavadgītā

Karman occurs in 115 verses of the Bhagavadgītā, in every adhyāya except the tenth.[8] The verses below fix the scope of the word; Śaṅkara’s senses are tabulated after them.

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ २.४७ ॥

karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana ।
mā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stv akarmaṇi ॥ 2.47 ॥

Your concern is with action alone, never with its fruits. Do not let the fruit of action be your motive; nor let your attachment be to inaction.

Śāṅkara-bhāṣyam: कर्मण्येवाधिकारो न ज्ञाननिष्ठायां ते तव । karmaṇy evādhikāro na jñānaniṣṭhāyāṃ te tava. Your eligibility is for action alone, not for steadfastness in knowledge.

बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते ।
तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ॥ २.५० ॥

buddhiyukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛtaduṣkṛte ।
tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam ॥ 2.50 ॥

One endowed with [even] understanding casts off here both good and evil deeds. Therefore devote yourself to Yoga; Yoga is skill in actions.

Śāṅkara-bhāṣyam: तद्धि कौशलं यद्बन्धनस्वभावान्यपि कर्माणि समत्वबुद्ध्या स्वभावान्निवर्तन्ते ।

tad dhi kauśalaṃ yad bandhanasvabhāvāny api karmāṇi samatvabuddhyā svabhāvān nivartante. That indeed is skill: that actions, though binding by nature, are turned away from their nature by the understanding of evenness.

न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् ।
कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥ ३.५ ॥

na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarmakṛt ।
kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛtijair guṇaiḥ ॥ 3.5 ॥

No one can remain even for a moment without performing action; everyone is made to act, helplessly, by the guṇas born of prakṛti.

यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः ।
तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर ॥ ३.९ ॥

yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṃ karmabandhanaḥ ।
tadarthaṃ karma kaunteya muktasaṅgaḥ samācara ॥ 3.9 ॥

Except for action done for the sake of yajña, this world is bound by action. For that sake, O son of Kuntī, perform action free from attachment.

Śāṅkara-bhāṣyam:यज्ञो वै विष्णुरिति श्रुतेर्यज्ञ ईश्वरः, तदर्थं यत्क्रियते तद्यज्ञार्थं कर्म ।

yajño vai viṣṇur iti śruter yajña īśvaraḥ, tadarthaṃ yat kriyate tad yajñārthaṃ karma.

According to the Śruti ‘Yajña indeed is Viṣṇu’, yajña is Īśvara; action done for His sake is action for yajña.

कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः ।
अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः ॥ ४.१७ ॥

karmaṇo hy api boddhavyaṃ boddhavyaṃ ca vikarmaṇaḥ ।
akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṃ gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ ॥ 4.17 ॥

One must understand what action is, what wrong action is, and what inaction is; deep indeed is the way of action.

Śāṅkara-bhāṣyam:कर्मणः शास्त्रविहितस्य ... विकर्मणः प्रतिषिद्धस्य ... अकर्मणश्च तूष्णीम्भावस्य ... karmaṇaḥ śāstravihitasya … vikarmaṇaḥ pratiṣiddhasya … akarmaṇaś ca tūṣṇīmbhāvasya … Karma is action enjoined by the śāstra; vikarma is action prohibited by it; akarma is remaining inactive.

यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन ।
ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ॥ ४.३७ ॥

yathaidhāṃsi samiddho ’gnir bhasmasāt kurute ’rjuna ।
jñānāgniḥ sarvakarmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute tathā ॥ 4.37 ॥

As a kindled fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so the fire of knowledge reduces all karma to ashes.

Śāṅkara-bhāṣyam: निर्बीजीकरोतीत्यर्थः । ... येन कर्मणा शरीरमारब्धं तत्प्रवृत्तफलत्वादुपभोगेनैव क्षीयते ।nirbījīkarotīty arthaḥ. … yena karmaṇā śarīram ārabdhaṃ tat pravṛttaphalatvād upabhogenaiva kṣīyate.

The meaning is: it renders [karma] seedless. … The karma by which this body was begun, its fruit having already commenced, is exhausted only by being experienced.

Senses of karma in the Śāṅkara-bhāṣya

Śaṅkara’s glosses on the 115 verses fall into the following senses; several verses combine more than one.

Sense	Typical gloss	Representative verses
Vedic ritual and sacrifice	यज्ञादीनि, अग्निहोत्रादिकं कर्म; विसर्गः … यज्ञः कर्मसंज्ञितः	3.4, 3.14, 3.15, 6.1, 6.46, 8.3, 9.12, 18.71
Obligatory duty (nitya), as against kāmya	नियतं नित्यं शास्त्रोपदिष्टम्; काम्यानाम् अश्वमेधादीनाम्	3.8, 3.19, 18.2, 18.7, 18.9, 18.10, 18.23
Action dedicated to Īśvara (karmayoga)	ईश्वरार्थम्; भृत्य इव स्वाम्यर्थम्; मदर्थं कर्म	2.48, 3.9, 3.30, 5.10, 11.55, 12.10, 13.24
Merit and demerit that bind	धर्माधर्माख्यम्; शुभाशुभलक्षणम्	2.39, 3.31, 4.19, 4.41, 9.28, 15.2, 18.12
Duty of one's varṇa (svadharma)	स्वधर्माख्यम्; गुणकर्मविभागशः; स्वभावजम्	2.50, 4.13, 18.41–18.48, 18.60
Bare activity of body, speech and mind	व्यापारमात्रम्; वाङ्मनःकायारभ्याणि; इन्द्रियकर्माणि	3.27, 4.18, 4.27, 4.32, 13.29, 18.15
Grammatical object (kāraka)	ईप्सिततमं कर्तुः क्रियया व्याप्यमानम्	5.14, 18.18 (contrasted with 18.19)

Śaṅkara sets all these senses against akarma and naiṣkarmya: for the knower, action is no action, since the Self does not act (BG 4.18, 4.20, 4.24, 18.49). At BG 18.18–18.19 he separates the grammatical sense (karma īpsitatamaṃ kartuḥ kriyayā vyāpyamānam) from action (karma kriyā na kārakaṃ pāribhāṣikam) — the double reference noted under Etymology.

Action without the word karma

At least 46 further verses teach about action through √kṛ, kārya, kartavya, kartṛ, kriyā, ceṣṭā, ācāra or pravṛtti, without using karman. They include BG 9.27 (yat karoṣi), 5.8 (naiva kiṃcit karomi) and 18.66 (sarvadharmān parityajya).

Theme	Verses	No.	Key words
The knower does nothing	3.17, 3.18, 4.22, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 13.31, 18.17	8	kāryaṃ na vidyate; kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate; naiva kiṃcit karomi; na karoti na lipyate; hatvāpi na hanti
Who is the doer?	3.33, 13.20, 14.19, 18.14, 18.16, 18.26, 18.28	7	ceṣṭate; kāryakaraṇakartṛtve; nānyaṃ guṇebhyaḥ kartāram; kartā (sāttvika, tāmasa)
Doers of good and evil	4.8, 4.36, 5.15, 6.40, 6.41, 7.15, 7.16	7	duṣkṛtām; pāpakṛttamaḥ; sukṛtam; kalyāṇakṛt; puṇyakṛtām; duṣkṛtinaḥ, sukṛtinaḥ
Rites as kriyā	11.48, 17.18, 17.19, 17.22, 17.24, 17.25, 17.28	7	na kriyābhiḥ; tapaḥ kriyate; yajñadānatapaḥkriyāḥ; kṛtaṃ ca yat
What is to be done and not done	16.7, 16.22, 16.23, 18.30, 18.31, 18.63	6	pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca; ācarati śreyaḥ; kāmakārataḥ; kāryākārye; yathecchasi tathā kuru
Arjuna's battle as the deed in question	1.45, 2.37, 2.38, 3.21, 18.59, 18.73	6	pāpaṃ kartum; kṛtaniścayaḥ; yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ; na yotsya; kariṣye vacanaṃ tava
Action offered to the Lord	9.27, 18.65, 18.66	3	yat karoṣi … tat kuruṣva madarpaṇam; māṃ namaskuru; sarvadharmān parityajya
Restraint of activity	6.12, 18.33	2	yatacittendriyakriyaḥ; manaḥprāṇendriyakriyāḥ

Śaṅkara reads several of these as statements about karma. BG 9.27 is karmayoga without the word. At BG 18.66, ‘all dharmas’ includes adharma, naiṣkarmyasya vivakṣitatvāt. BG 5.8–5.9 is the seeing of akarma in all activity (cf. BG 4.18). BG 3.17 (tasya kāryaṃ na vidyate) is the counterpart of BG 3.8 (niyataṃ kuru karma), addressed to a different adhikārin. With these, about 161 verses — nearly a quarter of the Gītā — concern action.

Haṭhayogapradīpikā

The word occurs in the second upadeśa, on purification before prāṇāyāma. Brahmānanda’s Jyotsnā[9] fixes its scope.

मेदश्लेष्माधिकः पूर्वं षट्कर्माणि समाचरेत् ।
अन्यस्तु नाचरेत्तानि दोषाणां समभावतः ॥ २.२१ ॥

medaśleṣmādhikaḥ pūrvaṃ ṣaṭkarmāṇi samācaret ।
anyas tu nācaret tāni doṣāṇāṃ samabhāvataḥ ॥ 2.21 ॥

One who has an excess of fat or phlegm should first practise the six karmas. Others should not practise them, since their doṣas are in balance.

Jyotsnā: पूर्वं प्राणायामाभ्यासात् प्राक् । … दोषाणां वातपित्तकफानां समभावतः साम्यात् । pūrvaṃ prāṇāyāmābhyāsāt prāk. … doṣāṇāṃ vātapittakaphānāṃ samabhāvataḥ sāmyāt. ‘First’ means before taking up prāṇāyāma. The doṣas are vāta, pitta and kapha; where these are in balance, the six karmas are not to be practised.

धौतिर्वस्तिस्तथा नेतिस्त्राटकं नौलिकं तथा ।
कपालभातिश्चैतानि षट्कर्माणि प्रचक्षते ॥ २.२२ ॥

dhautir vastis tathā netis trāṭakaṃ naulikaṃ tathā ।
kapālabhātiś caitāni ṣaṭkarmāṇi pracakṣate ॥ 2.22 ॥

Dhauti, vasti, neti, trāṭaka, nauli and kapālabhāti — these are declared to be the six karmas.

कर्मषट्कमिदं गोप्यं घटशोधनकारकम् ।
विचित्रगुणसन्धायि पूज्यते योगिपुङ्गवैः ॥ २.२३ ॥

karmaṣaṭkam idaṃ gopyaṃ ghaṭaśodhanakārakam ।
vicitraguṇasandhāyi pūjyate yogipuṅgavaiḥ ॥ 2.23 ॥

This group of six karmas, which brings about the purification of the body (ghaṭa), is to be kept secret. It confers manifold benefits and is held in esteem by the foremost yogins.

Jyotsnā: घटस्य देहस्य शोधनं करोतीति घटशोधनकारकम् । विचित्रान् अनेकविधान् गुणान् सन्दधातीति विचित्रगुणसन्धायि । ghaṭasya dehasya śodhanaṃ karotīti ghaṭaśodhanakārakam. vicitrān anekavidhān guṇān sandadhātīti vicitraguṇasandhāyi. Ghaṭa is the body; the six karmas cleanse it and confer benefits of many kinds.

षट्कर्मनिर्गतस्थौल्यकफदोषमलादिकः ।
प्राणायामं ततः कुर्यादनायासेन सिद्ध्यति ॥ २.३६ ॥

ṣaṭkarmanirgatasthaulyakaphadoṣamalādikaḥ ।
prāṇāyāmaṃ tataḥ kuryād anāyāsena siddhyati ॥ 2.36 ॥

One whose obesity, phlegm-disorders, impurities and the like have been removed by the six karmas should then practise prāṇāyāma; it succeeds without strain.

प्राणायामैरेव सर्वे प्रशुष्यन्ति मला इति ।
आचार्याणां तु केषाञ्चिदन्यत्कर्म न सम्मतम् ॥ २.३७ ॥

prāṇāyāmair eva sarve praśuṣyanti malā iti ।
ācāryāṇāṃ tu keṣāñcid anyat karma na sammatam ॥ 2.37 ॥

Holding that all impurities dry up by prāṇāyāma alone, some teachers do not approve of any other karma.

Jyotsnā: केषाञ्चिद् याज्ञवल्क्यादीनाम् । keṣāñcid yājñavalkyādīnām. ‘Some teachers’ are Yājñavalkya and others, for whom prāṇāyāma alone removes the impurities and the six karmas are not required.

Tabulation of Textual References

Text	Karma	References
Yogasūtra	5	1.24 (kleśa-karma-vipāka-āśaya), 2.12 (karmāśaya), 3.22 (sopakrama / nirupakrama), 4.7 (aśuklākṛṣṇa), 4.30 (kleśakarmanivṛtti)
Bhagavadgītā	115	In 17 adhyāyas (none in Adhyāya 10). Discussed above: 2.47, 2.50, 3.5, 3.9, 4.17, 4.37. A further 46 verses treat action without the word.
Haṭhayogapradīpikā	5	2.21 (ṣaṭkarmāṇi), 2.22 (ṣaṭkarmāṇi), 2.23 (karmaṣaṭkam), 2.36 (ṣaṭkarmanirgata), 2.37 (anyat karma)

Summary and Observations

Karma is used in three registers. In the Yogasūtra it is a technical category: action viewed through its fruition (vipāka) and residue (āśaya), always bound to the kleśas. In the Bhagavadgītā it is action to be performed, with the inner disposition that makes it non-binding. In the Haṭhayogapradīpikā it is a procedural term for six cleansing techniques.

1. In the Yogasūtra, karma is never a mere ‘deed’. It stands in the sequence kleśa – karma – vipāka – āśaya (YS 1.24), arises from kāma, lobha, moha and krodha (YS 2.12, Vyāsa), matures fast or slow (YS 3.22) and is fourfold (YS 4.7).

2. The aim is not ‘good karma’ but karma neither white nor black, which ends with the kleśas after dharmamegha samādhi (YS 4.30). The Yogasūtra’s own discipline is kriyāyoga (YS 2.1), not karmayoga.

3. In the Gītā no one can remain without action (BG 3.5). The remedy is action for yajña, that is, for Īśvara (BG 3.9), without attachment to fruit (BG 2.47), with evenness of understanding (BG 2.50). For Śaṅkara, karmayoga is action offered to Īśvara for the purification of the mind (BG 3.3, 5.11, 13.24).

4. Knowledge renders karma seedless, while the karma that began this body is exhausted only by experience (BG 4.37, Śaṅkara) — a parallel to YS 4.30 and YS 3.22.

5. In the Haṭhayogapradīpikā, karma is a cleansing procedure: indicated for excess fat or phlegm and not where vāta, pitta and kapha are balanced (HYP 2.21, Jyotsnā), preliminary to prāṇāyāma (HYP 2.36), and dispensable for teachers such as Yājñavalkya (HYP 2.37, Jyotsnā). It has no connection with the karmāśaya of the Yogasūtra.

The same word thus names a residue to be ended, an action to be performed rightly, and a technique to be applied selectively. Which sense is meant must be settled each time from text, context and commentary.

What the Study Yields

Step	What it yields	Why it matters
Derivation (vyutpatti)	Kriyate iti karma — that which is done; in grammar, that which the action reaches (karma-kāraka).	Covers both the act and its product — the ground of the Yogasūtra’s residue and fruition.
Lexicon (kośa)	Karma = kriyā; distinct technical senses in Vyākaraṇa, Vaiśeṣika and Mīmāṃsā.	Explains why the Haṭhayogapradīpikā can call techniques ‘karma’, and how kriyāyoga relates to karma.
Usage across texts (prayoga)	Three registers: residue-bearing action (YS), action to be performed (BG), cleansing procedure (HYP).	Prevents one text’s sense from being read into another.
Usage with commentaries	Vyāsa: kuśala / akuśala, fourfold karma, sopakrama / nirupakrama. Śaṅkara: śāstravihita, samatva-buddhi, nirbījīkaraṇa. Brahmānanda: pūrvam = before prāṇāyāma; doṣa = vāta, pitta, kapha.	Fix the scope of each occurrence.
Related terms	karmāśaya, vipāka, āśaya, kriyāyoga, karmayoga, akarma, vikarma, ṣaṭkarma	Separates compounds often treated as interchangeable.

Two Worked Examples

Example 1: Bhagavadgītā 2.50

In yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam (BG 2.50, above), the Yogasūtra sense would give ‘skill in karmic residues’ and the Haṭhayoga sense ‘skill in cleansing procedures’. Neither fits. The context (BG 2.47–2.51) concerns action and its fruit, and Śaṅkara reads kauśala as the evenness by which actions binding by nature cease to bind.

Conclusion: karma here is action to be performed. Its outcome — action that does not bind — corresponds to the yogin’s aśuklākṛṣṇa karma (YS 4.7). The two texts reach a comparable result in different vocabularies; neither defines the other.

Example 2: Haṭhayogapradīpikā 2.21

In ṣaṭkarmāṇi samācaret (HYP 2.21, above), the Yogasūtra sense would give ‘six kinds of karmic action’ and the Gītā sense ‘six duties’. Neither fits. HYP 2.22 lists the six techniques, HYP 2.23 calls them ghaṭaśodhanakārakam, and HYP 2.36 places them before prāṇāyāma. The Jyotsnā settles the indication: pūrvam is ‘before prāṇāyāma’, and the doṣas are vāta, pitta and kapha.

Conclusion: karma here is a bodily cleansing procedure, with a stated indication and contraindication, preparatory to prāṇāyāma. It does not ‘cleanse karma’ in the Yogasūtra sense, and the verse does not support prescribing it to everyone.

Current Explanations in the Light of the Texts

The following remarks concern only explanations offered in the name of Yoga, and place them within the textual framework above.

Karma Yoga as service. Karma Yoga as the offering of all activity to the Lord without attachment to fruit[10] agrees with Śaṅkara on BG 3.9, 3.30 and 5.10 (īśvarārtham, bhṛtya iva svāmyartham). Work in the spirit of sevā[11] is a valuable attitude; for Śaṅkara, however, what makes action karmayoga is one’s own duty (svadharma) or enjoined action, done for Īśvara without desire for fruit, for the purification of the mind (BG 2.48, 3.4, 5.11). Nor is karmayoga, a teaching of the Gītā, the same as the Yogasūtra’s kriyāyoga (YS 2.1).

Karma as stored information. An imprint or ‘information’ carried from past action[12] is what the Yogasūtra calls āśaya or vāsanā, which Vyāsa keeps distinct from karma: kuśalākuśalāni karmāṇi … tadanuguṇā vāsanā āśayāḥ (on YS 1.24). The distinction matters, since the karmāśaya is rooted in the kleśas (YS 2.12) and ceases only with them (YS 4.30).

The threefold classification. Sañcita, prārabdha and āgāmi[13] belong to the Vedānta tradition. The Yogasūtra classifies karma by the birth in which it is experienced (YS 2.12), the speed of its fruition (YS 3.22) and its quality (YS 4.7). The Gītā, with Śaṅkara on BG 4.37, recognises in substance the karma that has begun the present body.

Ṣaṭkarma as detoxification. The Common Yoga Protocol rightly describes the ṣaṭkarmas as clinical in nature.[14] The text, however, speaks not of ‘toxins’ but of excess fat and phlegm (medaśleṣma), impurities (mala) and the balance of the doṣas — for the Jyotsnā, vāta, pitta and kapha. It prescribes the six karmas only where fat or phlegm is in excess (HYP 2.21), as a preliminary to prāṇāyāma (HYP 2.36), and records that some teachers hold prāṇāyāma alone sufficient (HYP 2.37). A routine cleanse for everyone does not fit this framework.

Conclusion

Karma is one word with several defined meanings. In the Yogasūtra it is action as the bearer of residue and fruition, rooted in the kleśas and ending with them. In the Bhagavadgītā it is action to be done — rite, obligatory duty, svadharma, action offered to Īśvara — and freed from bondage. In the Haṭhayogapradīpikā it is six cleansing techniques prescribed by the condition of the body.

Reading each occurrence through derivation, lexicon, context and commentary keeps these senses apart, with practical effect. In practice and therapy, ṣaṭkarma is applied by indication (HYP 2.21, with the Jyotsnā); the Yogasūtra’s karmāśaya explains habitual patterns and their roots in the kleśas; and the Gītā shapes the attitude with which action is undertaken.

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[1]“Karma”. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma (accessed 13 October 2026).

[2]“What is Karma Yoga & Why is it needed?”. The Yoga Institute. https://theyogainstitute.org/karma-yoga/ (accessed 13 October 2026).

[3]“Principles of Karma Yoga”. Integral Yoga Magazine. https://integralyogamagazine.org/principles-of-karma-yoga/ (accessed 13 October 2026).

[4]“Decoding Karma: Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid Of It”. The Art of Living. https://www.artofliving.org/in-en/wisdom/theme/3-types-of-karma (accessed 13 October 2026).

[5]“What Is Karma and How Does It Work?”. Isha Foundation. https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/what-is-karma (accessed 13 October 2026).

[6]International Day of Yoga: Common Yoga Protocol. Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, and Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, June 2023. https://yogamdniy.nic.in/files/pdf/CYP-2023-English.pdf (accessed 13 October 2026).

[7] Sūtra and bhāṣya text: Pātañjalayogasūtrāṇi, with the Vyāsabhāṣya, Vācaspatimiśra’s Tattvavaiśāradī and Bhojadeva’s Rājamārtaṇḍa, ed. Kāśīnātha Śāstrī Āgāśe, Ānandāśrama Sanskrit Series 47 (Poona: Ānandāśrama, 1919), https://archive.org/details/Anandashram_Samskrita_Granthavali_Anandashram_Sanskrit_Series. English: James Haughton Woods, The Yoga-System of Patañjali, Harvard Oriental Series 17 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1914), https://archive.org/details/yogasystemofpata00wooduoft.

[8] Verse and bhāṣya text: Śrīmadbhagavadgītā, with the Śāṅkarabhāṣya and Ānandagiri’s ṭīkā, ed. Kāśīnātha Śāstrī Āgāśe, Ānandāśrama Sanskrit Series 34 (Poona: Ānandāśrama, 1896), https://archive.org/details/Anandashram_Samskrita_Granthavali_Anandashram_Sanskrit_Series. English: A. Mahadeva Sastri, The Bhagavad-Gita with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, 2nd ed. (Mysore, 1901), https://archive.org/details/bhagavadgitawith00maharich. Adhyāya 13 is numbered here with 34 verses; editions that number Arjuna’s opening question place 13.24 and 13.29 at 13.25 and 13.30.

[9] The Haṭhayogapradīpikā of Svātmārāma, with the Commentary Jyotsnā of Brahmānanda and English Translation, tr. Srinivasa Iyangar, rev. Radha Burnier and A. A. Ramanathan (Madras: Adyar Library and Research Centre, 1972), https://archive.org/details/hathayogapradipika.

[10]Integral Yoga Magazine, “Principles of Karma Yoga” (see n. 3).

[11]The Yoga Institute, “What is Karma Yoga & Why is it needed?” (see n. 2).

[12]Isha Foundation, “What Is Karma and How Does It Work?” (see n. 5).

[13]The Art of Living, “Decoding Karma: Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid Of It” (see n. 4).

[14]Common Yoga Protocol, 2023 (see n. 6).

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