Chapter II · Śloka 48
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय |
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ||
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ||
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā dhanañjaya |
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate ||
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate ||
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
Here Krishna defines yoga in a single sentence: samatvam — equanimity. Not the elimination of action but the elimination of clinging to outcomes. The yogi acts with full effort and full surrender simultaneously, and in that paradox discovers the deepest freedom.