🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 5.14
Chapter 5 · कर्मसंन्यासयोग · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · "The Yoga of Action-Renunciation" · Verse 14 of 29
🪷 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
5.14 The Lord of this universe has not ordained activity, or any incentive thereto, or any relation between an act and its consequences. All this is the work of Nature.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
5.14 Neither agency nor actions does the Lord create for the world, nor union with the fruits of actions. But it is Nature that acts.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
5.14 Prabhuh, the Self; na srjati, does not create; lokasya, for anyone; kartrtvam, agentship, by saying 'Do this'; or even karmani, any objects-such objects as chariot, pot, palace, etc. which are intensely longed for; nor even karma-phala-samyogam, association with the results of actions-association of the creator of a chariot etc. with the result of his work.
Objection: If the embodied one does not do anything himself, and does not make others do, then who is it that engages in work by doing and making others do?
The answer is: Tu, but; it is svabhavah, Nature- one's own (sva) nature (bhava)-characterized as ignorance, Maya, which will be spoken of in, 'Since this divine Maya' (7.14); pravartate, that acts.
But from the highest standpoint-
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
5.14 When the world of embodied selves exists in conjunction with the Prakrti in the form of gods, animals, men, immobile things etc., the master (Prabhu i.e., the Jiva who is the master of the body), who is not subject to Karma and is established in Its own essential nature, does not bring about: (i) the agency of gods, men etc. (ii) their manifold and particular actions and (iii) their connection with the fruits in the form of embodiment as gods etc., resulting from their actions. Who then brings about agency etc.? It is only the tendencies that act. A tendency (Svabhava) is subtle impressions (Vasanas) originating from Prakrti. The meaning is that agency, etc., do not originate from the natural or pristine condition of the self but are generated by the subtle impressions created by misconceiving those forms of Prakrti etc., as of the self. This is the result of the conjunction of the self with Prakrti in the form of gods, etc., which has been generated by the flow of previous Karmas brought about in beginningless time.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
5.14. The Lord (Self) acires neither the state of being a creator of the world, nor the actions, nor the connecting with the fruits of their actions. But it is the inherent nature [in It] that exerts.
🪷 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
5.14 न not? कर्तृत्वम् agency? न not? कर्माणि actions? लोकस्य for this world? सृजति creates? प्रभुः the Lord? न not? कर्मफलसंयोगम् union with the fruits of actions? स्वभावः nature? तु but? प्रवर्तते leads to action.Commentary The Lord does not create agency or doership. He does not press anyone to do actions. He never tells anyone? Do this or do that. He does not bring about the union with the fruit of actions. It is Prakritit or Nature that does everything. (Cf.III.33)
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
5.14 Prabhuh, the Self; na srjati, does not create; lokasya, for anyone; kartrtvam, agentship, by saying 'Do this'; or even karmani, any objects-such objects as chariot, pot, palace, etc. which are intensely longed for; nor even karma-phala-samyogam, association with the results of actions-association of the creator of a chariot etc. with the result of his work.
Objection: If the embodied one does not do anything himself, and does not make others do, then who is it that engages in work by doing and making others do?
The answer is: Tu, but; it is svabhavah, Nature- one's own (sva) nature (bhava)-characterized as ignorance, Maya, which will be spoken of in, 'Since this divine Maya' (7.14); pravartate, that acts.
But from the highest standpoint-
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
5.14 When the world of embodied selves exists in conjunction with the Prakrti in the form of gods, animals, men, immobile things etc., the master (Prabhu i.e., the Jiva who is the master of the body), who is not subject to Karma and is established in Its own essential nature, does not bring about: (i) the agency of gods, men etc. (ii) their manifold and particular actions and (iii) their connection with the fruits in the form of embodiment as gods etc., resulting from their actions. Who then brings about agency etc.? It is only the tendencies that act. A tendency (Svabhava) is subtle impressions (Vasanas) originating from Prakrti. The meaning is that agency, etc., do not originate from the natural or pristine condition of the self but are generated by the subtle impressions created by misconceiving those forms of Prakrti etc., as of the self. This is the result of the conjunction of the self with Prakrti in the form of gods, etc., which has been generated by the flow of previous Karmas brought about in beginningless time.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
5.14 Na kartrtvam etc. This Soul does not do anything for anything. But, Its exertion is only Its inherent nature and it is not due to any desire for results. For, the Bhagavat, the Conscious Energy Itself Whose ultimately true inherent nature is the Illumination-Bliss-Freedom-of-Will, and Which brings out, merely by Its own nature, the continuous series of creation, manitenance and withdrawl of all (the Universe); hence in It, there is never a departure, even to a little extent, from Its own inherent nature. Hence there is no such thing as a particular stage of being a creator i.e., a creatorhood separate [from Itself]. Because that does not exist, what actions can be there ? If actions are not there, the fruit is to be of what or for whom ? Then what connection could be three with the fruit of action ?
[Further], 'action' in this context is [only] the kriya-[sakti] or creative energy [which is nothing but His will], and 'result of action' too in only the fruit of this kriya. For example, the activity like rotating the [potter's] wheel by the stick is not [actually] different [from what is to be created i.e., the pot]. Nor the creator of the pot is different from it. For, all exist within the Conscious Energy. Therefore, it is only the Animate Sovereign Supreme Lord that manifests in this and that form. Therefore there exist no activity and its result etc., apart from That. This is demonstrated conclusion [of the scriptures].
So, if there is no activity or its result [as stated above], then even the result, ordained in [the scriptural] injunctions cannot have a status of being produced by the unseen [cause]. After saying this in the other first hemistich [of the following verse], the Lord justifies in the other hemistich the same statement with reference to the men of mundane life :-
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।5.14।। वेदों में ईश्वर के विषय में प्रतिपादन करते हुये कहा गया है कि वह सर्वज्ञ सर्वशक्तिमान् सर्वद्रष्टा कर्माध्यक्ष और कर्मफलदाता है जो समस्त जीवों को उनके कर्मों के अनुसार ही न्यायपूर्वक फल प्रदान करता है। यहाँ परमात्मा का वर्णन जगत् के साथ उसके सम्बन्ध को दिखाकर किया गया है।परमात्मा न कर्तृत्व को उत्पन्न करता है और न ही कर्मों का अनुमोदन करता है। कर्म का फल के साथ संयोग कराना यह भी उसका कार्य नहीं।अनेक व्याख्याकारों के मतानुसार इस श्लोक में प्रभु शब्द से कर्माध्यक्ष कर्मफलदाता ईश्वर को सूचित किया गया है परन्तु भगवान् के कथन से उनके मत की पुष्टि नहीं होती। विचार करने पर कोई भी विद्यार्थी स्पष्ट रूप से समझ सकता है कि यहाँ भगवान अर्जुन को निरुपाधिक चैतन्य आत्मा का स्वरूप समझाने का प्रयत्न कर रहे हैं। यहाँ आत्मा का तीन शरीरों स्थूल सूक्ष्म और कारण के साथ सम्बन्ध बताया गया है।यदि श्रीकृष्ण के कथन के अनुसार आत्मा का कर्तृत्व कर्म और कर्मफल संयोग से कोई सम्बन्ध नहीं है तब हमारे जीवन का भी आत्मा के साथ कोई सम्बन्ध नहीं होना चाहिये क्योंकि कर्तृत्वादि से भिन्न हमारे जीवन का अस्तित्व ही नहीं है। तथापि आत्मा के अभाव में किसी भी वस्तु का न अस्तित्व है और न क्रियारूप व्यापार। इसलिये आत्मा और अनात्मा के बीच किसीनकिसी प्रकार का सम्बन्ध होना अनिवार्य है और उस विचित्र सम्बन्ध रहित सम्बन्ध का वर्णन यहाँ किया गया है।यह तो सर्वविदित है कि मनुष्य की नाक अपनी जगह पर सुस्थिर रहती है। उसमें स्वेच्छा से अथवा अनिच्छा से गति नहीं होती। और फिर भी यदि कोई व्यक्ति जल में अपने मुख को देखते हुये यह पाये कि उसकी नाक किसी कील पर लटकी हुयी वस्तु के समान हिल रही है तब वह क्या सोचेगा वह जानेगा कि नाक अपने स्थान पर सुस्थित है तथापि जल में वह उसे हिलती दिखाई दे रही है। स्पष्ट है कि चेहरे के प्रतिबिम्ब की स्थिति जल की स्थिति पर निर्भर करती है। आत्मा में न कर्तृत्व है और न क्रिया परन्तु उपाधियों में व्यक्त आत्मा जिसे जीव कहते हैं के लिए कर्तृत्व कर्म और फल संयोग प्राप्त हो जाते हैं।विद्युत स्वयं स्थिर शक्ति है। उसके उत्पादन के पश्चात् उसका वितरण करने पर अनेक प्रकार के उपकरणों के माध्यम से वह अनेक रूपों में व्यक्त होती है। चैतन्यस्वरूप आत्मा भी जड़ उपाधियों से परिच्छिन्नसा हुआ कर्तृत्वादि को प्राप्त होता है।कर्मों का कर्ता और भोक्ता जीव है आत्मा नहीं। स्वभाव अर्थात् त्रिगुणात्मिका माया के सम्बन्ध से ही आत्मा में कर्तृत्व और भोक्तृत्वादि गुण प्रतीत होते हैं।पारमार्थिक दृष्टि से आत्मा प्रकृति के गुणों से सर्वथा निर्लिप्त ही है। भगवान् कहते है
🪷 Place in the Bhagavad-Gītā
- This is verse 14 of 29 in Chapter 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga (The Yoga of Action-Renunciation)
- Chapter theme: Sama-darśana · the body as nine-gated city · seer beyond doer
- Ṣaṭka grouping: TVAM-Ṣaṭka (BG 1-6 · the jīva)
- Chapter hub: /karma-sannyasa
🪷 ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय 🪷
सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)