निष्काम कर्म

Niṣkāma karma means action done free from the grip of kāma, craving for its fruit. It is not a word that occurs in the verses in this form. It is the name the tradition gives to the teaching found in 2.47 to 2.51 and in the later chapters.

Verse 2.47 says that the right is in action, never in its fruits; it adds that one should not make the fruit the reason for acting, and should not cling to inaction either. Verse 2.48 carries this further: act, giving up attachment and staying even in success and failure, for such evenness is called yoga. Verse 2.51 says that the wise who are yoked to buddhi and renounce the fruit reach a state free from affliction.

Note that "niṣkāma" does not mean "without purpose" or "without care". Action has a purpose, preparation and effort. What is let go is the grip on the fruit and the restlessness that hangs on it.

Common misreading: taking niṣkāma karma as indifference, or as an excuse for carelessness about the outcome.

Better sense: act with the whole heart and with care, while inner peace does not rest on how the result turns out.

To read further, see the topic Action Without Claiming the Fruit.