🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 3.5

Chapter 3 · कर्मयोग · Karma-Yoga · "The Yoga of Action" · Verse 5 of 43

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न हि कश्िचत्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत्।

कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः।।3.5।।
— Bhagavad-Gītā 3.5 · the yathārtha śloka (Devanāgarī Sanskrit · canonical)

🪷 English Translations

Five authentic English voices · each from a distinct sampradāya · together revealing the verse's full śabda-tattva.

Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 · public domain · Cosmo Press tradition
3.5 He cannot even for a moment remain really inactive, for the Qualities of Nature will compel him to act whether he will or no.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
3.5 Verily none can ever remain for even a moment without performing action; for everyone is made to act helplessly indeed by the alities born of Nature.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
3.5 Hi, because; na kascit, no one; jatu, ever; tisthati, remains; api, even; for so much time as a ksanam, moment; akarma-krt, without doing work. Why? Hi, for; sarvah, all creatures; karyate karma, are made to work; verily avasah, under compulsion; gunaih, by the gunas-sattva (goodness); rajas (activity), and tamas (mental darkness); prakrti-jaih, born of Nature. The word 'unenlightened' has to be added to the sentence, since the men of realzation have been spoken of separately in, 'who is not distracted by the three gunas (alities)' (14.23). For Karma-yoga is meant only for the unenlightened, nor for the men of Knowledge. Karma-yoga, on the other hand, is not pertinent for the men of Knowledge who, because of their not moving away from their own Self, are not shaken by the gunas. This has been explained similarly in, 'he who has known this One as indestructible' (2.21). But, if one who is not a knower of the self does not perform prescribed action, then this is certainly bad. Hence the Lord says:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
3.5 In this world, no man can rest without doing work; for every person, even though he may have determined, 'I will not do anything,' is caused to act, i.e., is compelled to act according to the Gunas born of Prakrti. The Gunas are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas which increase in accordance with his old Karma. Conseently, Jnana Yoga can be attained only by means of a purified inner organ after annulling the old accumulation of sins by means of Karma Yoga of the aforesaid characteristics and bringing Sattva and other Gunas under control. Otherwise, one who engages oneself in Jnana Yoga becomes a hypocrite:
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
3.5. For, no one can ever remain, even for a moment, as a non-performer of action; because everyone, being not master of himself, is forced to perform action by the Strands born of the Prakrti (Material cause)

🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices

The classical commentary tradition rendered in English · each ācārya speaks from their own sampradāya · the seer chooses the depth of darśana.

Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
3.5 नहि not? कश्चित् anyone? क्षणम् a moment? अपि even? जातु verily? तिष्ठति remains? अकर्मकृत् without performing action? कार्यते is made to do? हि for? अवशः helpless? कर्म action? सर्वः all? प्रकृतिजैः born of Prakriti? गुणैः by the alities.Commentary The Gunas (alities of Nature) are three? viz.? Sattva? Rajas and Tamas. Sattva is harmony or light or purity Rajas is passion or motion Tamas is inertia or darkness. Sattvic actions help a man to attain to Moksha. Rajasic and Tamasic actions bind a man to Samsara.These alities cannot affect a man who has knowledge of the Self. He has crossed over these alities. He has become a Gunatita (one who has transcended the alities of Nature). The ignorant man who has no knowledge of the Self and who is swayed by Avidya or nescience is driven helplessly to action by the Gunas. (Cf.IV.16?XVIII.11).
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
3.5 Hi, because; na kascit, no one; jatu, ever; tisthati, remains; api, even; for so much time as a ksanam, moment; akarma-krt, without doing work. Why? Hi, for; sarvah, all creatures; karyate karma, are made to work; verily avasah, under compulsion; gunaih, by the gunas-sattva (goodness); rajas (activity), and tamas (mental darkness); prakrti-jaih, born of Nature. The word 'unenlightened' has to be added to the sentence, since the men of realzation have been spoken of separately in, 'who is not distracted by the three gunas (alities)' (14.23). For Karma-yoga is meant only for the unenlightened, nor for the men of Knowledge. Karma-yoga, on the other hand, is not pertinent for the men of Knowledge who, because of their not moving away from their own Self, are not shaken by the gunas. This has been explained similarly in, 'he who has known this One as indestructible' (2.21). But, if one who is not a knower of the self does not perform prescribed action, then this is certainly bad. Hence the Lord says:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
3.5 In this world, no man can rest without doing work; for every person, even though he may have determined, 'I will not do anything,' is caused to act, i.e., is compelled to act according to the Gunas born of Prakrti. The Gunas are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas which increase in accordance with his old Karma. Conseently, Jnana Yoga can be attained only by means of a purified inner organ after annulling the old accumulation of sins by means of Karma Yoga of the aforesaid characteristics and bringing Sattva and other Gunas under control. Otherwise, one who engages oneself in Jnana Yoga becomes a hypocrite:
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
3.4-5 Na karmanam etc Na hi etc. Knowledge, deserted by action, does not exist; and the action, combined with dexterity does not exist, [if it is] deserted by knowledge. Therefore knowledge and action constitute one and the same thing. Hence it has been delclared : 'Knowledge is not deserted by action and action is not deserted by knowledge. [Hence] a teacher who is well accomplished in knowledge and action, is the cutter of the fetters of the fettered'. Therefore the action that is included within the knowledge cannot be avoided. For, the body, the organ of speech and the mind are, by nature, in a perpetual motion; and hence an individual, being simply under the control of other than himself, necessarily performs one action or the other. For, the body, the speech-organ and the mind are of the nature of throbing.
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।3.5।। प्रकृति के सत्त्व रज और तम इन तीन गुणों के प्रभाव में मनुष्य सदैव रहता है। क्षणमात्र भी पूर्णरूप से निष्क्रिय होकर वह नहीं रह सकता। निष्क्रियता जड़ पदार्थ का धर्म है। शरीर से कोई कर्म न करने पर भी हम मन और बुद्धि से क्रियाशील रहते ही हैं। विचार क्रिया केवल निद्रावस्था में लीन हो जाती है। जब तक हम इन गुणों के प्रभाव में रहते हैं तब तक कर्म करने के लिए हम विवश होते हैं।इसलिए कर्म का सर्वथा त्याग करना प्रकृति के नियम के विरुद्ध होने के कारण असम्भव है। शारीरिक कर्म न करने पर भी मनुष्य व्यर्थ के विचारों में मन की शक्ति को गँवाता है। अत गीता का उपदेश है कि मनुष्य शरीर से तो कर्म करे परन्तु समर्पण की भावना से इससे शक्ति के अपव्यय से बचाव होने के साथसाथ उसके व्यक्तित्व का भी विकास होता है।आत्मस्वरूप को नहीं जानने वाले पुरुष के लिए कर्तव्य का त्याग उचित नहीं है।भगवान् कहते हैं

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सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)