QUESTION 5(a)
GS4
10 marks
"One who is devoted to one’s duty attains highest perfection in life." Analyse this statement with reference to sense of responsibility and personal fulfilment as a civil servant.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Analyse how devotion to duty gives civil servants a sense of responsibility and personal fulfilment.
AnalyseBreak it into parts, show how the parts connect, and judge which matter most.
Demand-wise check
- 1Meaning: Gita's nishkama karma, duty without attachment to reward≈30 words
- 2Responsibility: ownership of outcomes, accountability to citizens≈30 words
- 3Fulfilment: meaning from service, intrinsic motivation over status≈30 words
- 4Caution: duty must be guided by ethics (not blind obedience) and balanced with health and family≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
MeaningLink to responsibilityLink to fulfilmentExamplesCautionConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Only quoting the Gita without the civil servant angle
- Not covering both responsibility and personal fulfilment
Draw this
- Flow: duty → responsibility → service → fulfilment
Value addition
- SourceBhagavad Gita 18.45: one attains perfection by devotion to one's own duty.Bhagavad Gita
- ThinkerKant: an act has moral worth when done from duty.Immanuel Kant
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Vidushi Singh · AIR 13 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 23 ↗Same syllabus reference
- G Sanjana · AIR 55 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 7 minutes, then get it checked.