आसक्तिम् आहुः कर्तृत्वम् अकर्तुर् अपि तद् भवेत् । मौर्ख्ये स्थिते हि मनसि तस्मान् मौर्ख्यं परित्यजेत्
Attachment is called doership; even in one who is not a doer, it may arise. When the mind remains in ignorance, therefore, one should abandon ignorance.
परं तज्ज्ञत्वम् आश्रित्य निरासक्तेर् महात्मनः । सर्वकर्मरतस्यापि कर्तृतोदेति न क्वचित्
Relying on that supreme knowledge, in the great soul who is free from attachment, even though engaged in all actions, the sense of doership never arises.
अकर्तृत्वाद् अभोक्तृत्वम् अभोक्तृत्वात् समैकता । समैकत्वाद् अनन्तत्वं ततो ब्रह्मत्वम् आततम्
From non-doership comes non-enjoyership; from non-enjoyership, oneness; from oneness, infinitude; and from that, the state of Brahman is attained.
नानाताम् अलम् उत्सृज्य परमात्मैकतां गतः । कुर्वन् कार्यम् अकार्यं च नैव कर्ता त्वम् अर्जुन
Having completely abandoned diversity and attained the oneness of the supreme Self, whether performing action or inaction, you are not the doer, O Arjuna.
यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः । ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तम् आहुः पण्डितं बुधाः
He whose every undertaking is free from desire and intention, whose actions are burnt by the fire of knowledge—him the wise call a sage.
समस् सोम्यस् स्थिरस् स्वस्थश् शान्तस् सर्वार्थनिस्स्पृहः । यस् तिष्ठति स सुव्यग्रो ऽप्य् अलम् अव्यग्रतां गतः
He who is equal-minded, gentle, steady, self-composed, peaceful, and free from all desires—though he may appear greatly agitated, he is truly free from agitation.
निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् । यथाप्राप्तानुवर्ती च भव भूषितभूतलः
Be free from duality, established in constant purity, unconcerned with gain and security, self-possessed, and following what comes as it comes, O one who adorns the earth.
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् । इन्द्रियार्थान् विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारस् स उच्यते
He who restrains the organs of action and sits remembering sense objects in his mind, with a deluded self—he is called a hypocrite.
यस् त्व् इन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभते ऽर्जुन । कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगम् असक्तस् स विशिष्यते
But he who, restraining the senses with the mind, undertakes the yoga of action with the organs of action, unattached, O Arjuna, excels.
आपूर्यमाणं त्व् अचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रम् आपः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत् कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिम् आप्नोति न कामकामी
Just as waters enter the ocean, which is ever being filled yet remains unmoved, so too, all desires enter into one who is at peace; not so for the one who longs for desires.
न कुर्याद् भोगसन्त्यागं न कुर्याद् भोगभावनम् । स्थातव्यं सुसमेनैव यथाप्राप्तानुवर्तिना
One should neither abandon enjoyments nor cultivate attachment to them; rather, one should remain balanced, following what comes as it arises.
अनात्मन्य् आत्मतां देहे मा भावय भवात्मनि । आत्मन्य् एवात्मतां सत्ये भावयाभावरूपिणि
Do not imagine selfhood in what is not the Self, in the body; instead, realize true selfhood in the Self alone, which is reality, the very form of absence.
देहनाशे महाबाहो न किञ्चिद् अपि नश्यति । आत्मनाशे हि नाशस् स्यान् न चात्मा नश्यति क्वचित्
O mighty-armed, when the body perishes, nothing at all is lost; only with the loss of the Self would there be destruction, but the Self is never destroyed anywhere.
अविनाशम् अनाद्यन्तम् आत्मानम् अजरं विदुः । नश्यत्य् आत्मेति दुर्बोधो मा तवास्त्व् अतिदुःखदः
The Self is known to be imperishable, without beginning or end, and ageless; the notion that the Self perishes is hard to grasp—let it not be yours, for it brings great sorrow.
न कदाचन नश्यन्ति विदितात्मान उत्तमाः । नश्यन्त्य् अविदितात्मानो ह्य् अनात्मन्य् आत्ममानिनः
Those who have realized the Self never perish; but those who have not, who imagine selfhood in what is not the Self, indeed perish.
एवं चेत् तज् जगन्नाथ मूढानाम् अपि मानद । देहनाशे समुत्पन्ने मन्ये नष्टं न किञ्चन
If this is so, O Lord of the world, bestower of honor even to the deluded, then even when the body perishes, I think nothing at all is lost.
एवम् एव महाबाहो न किञ्चिन् नश्यति क्वचित् । आत्मैवास्त्य् अविनाशात्मा किं तस्य क्व विनश्यति
In this way, O mighty-armed one, nothing is ever destroyed anywhere; only the Self exists, the indestructible Self—how and where could it ever perish?
इदं नष्टम् इदं युक्तम् इति मोहाद् भ्रमाद् ऋते । अन्यत् तथा न पश्यामि वन्ध्यास्त्रीतनयं यथा
This is lost, this is fitting—such notions arise only from delusion and error; otherwise, I do not see anything like that, just as a barren woman does not have a son.
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः । उभयोर् अपि दृष्टो ऽन्तस् त्व् अनयोस् तत्त्वदर्शिभिः
There is no existence in what is unreal, nor is there non-existence in what is real; the end of both has been observed by those who see the truth.
अविनाशि तु तद् विद्धि येन सर्वम् इदं ततम् । विनाशम् अव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित् कर्तुम् अर्हति
Know that the indestructible is that by which all this is pervaded; no one is able to bring about the destruction of this imperishable.
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताश् शरीरिणः । अनाशिनो ऽप्रमेयस्य तस्माद् युध्यस्व भारत
These bodies are said to have an end, but the embodied Self is eternal, indestructible, and immeasurable; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.
आत्मैवैको ऽस्ति न द्वित्वम् असतस् सम्भवः कुतः । अविनाशस् त्व् अनन्तो ऽसौ सतो नाशो न विद्यते
Only the Self exists, not a second; how could the unreal arise? That which is real is infinite and indestructible—there is no destruction of what is real.
द्वैतैकत्वपरित्यागे यच् छेषम् अवशिष्यते । शान्तं सदसतोर् मध्यं तद् अस्तीह परं पदम्
When duality and unity are relinquished, what remains is peaceful, the middle ground between real and unreal; that is the highest state here.
तन् मृतो ऽस्मीति भगवन् किंरूढेह नृणां स्थितिः । कथं स्थितौ वा लोकानां तौ स्वर्गनरकौ प्रभो
O Lord, when someone says 'I am dead,' what is the true condition of people here? And in the state of the worlds, how do heaven and hell exist, O Master?
भूमिर् आपो ऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिर् एव च । एतत्तन्मात्रजातात्मा जीवो देहेषु तिष्ठति
Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, and intellect—these, born from their subtle elements, are the essence by which the living soul abides in bodies.
स कृष्यते वासनया रज्ज्वेव पशुपोतकः । स तिष्ठति शरीरान्तः पञ्जरे विहगो यथा
It is drawn by impressions, like a calf led by a rope; it remains within the body, as a bird in a cage.
स कालवशतो देहाज् जर्जरत्वम् उपागतात् । वासनावशतो याति वृक्षपर्णाद् रसो यथा
By the force of time, when the body becomes worn out, it departs by the power of impressions, just as sap leaves a tree’s leaf.
श्रोत्रं चक्षुस् स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणम् एव च । गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर् गन्धान् इवाशयात्
Taking the faculties of hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell, it departs, as the wind carries scents from their source.
वासनावत्त्वम् एवास्य देहो नेतरयुक्तिजः । क्षीयते वासनात्यागे क्षीणे भवति तत् पदम्
Its embodiment is due only to impressions, not to any other cause; when impressions are relinquished, the body is exhausted, and it attains that state.
वासनावान् पुरा पुष्टो भूत्वा भ्राम्यति योनिषु । जीवो भ्रमभराकारो मायापुरुषको यथा
Nourished by impressions, it once wandered through wombs; the soul, shaped by the burden of wandering, is like a phantom man fashioned by illusion.