Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 14

Chapter 4 – Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा ।
इति मां योऽभिजानाति कर्मभिर्न स बध्यते ॥

Transliteration

na māṃ karmāṇi limpanti na me karmaphale spṛhā .
iti māṃ yo.abhijānāti karmabhirna sa badhyate ॥

Meaning

Actions do not taint Me, nor do I have any desire for their fruit. One who knows Me thus is also not bound by actions.

Word meanings

न – not
माम् – Me
कर्माणि – actions
लिम्पन्ति – taint, stain, bind
न – not
मे – My
कर्मफले – in the fruit of action
स्पृहा – desire, longing
इति – thus
माम् – Me
यः – who
अभिजानाति – knows well
कर्मभिः – by actions
न – not
सः – he
बध्यते – is bound

Anvaya (word order)

कर्माणि मां न लिम्पन्ति, मे कर्मफले स्पृहा न । इति यः माम् अभिजानाति, सः कर्मभिः न बध्यते ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna said that though He is the creator, He is a non-doer. Now He gives the reason: ‘na mam karmani limpanti’ — actions do not taint Me. To be ‘tainted’ is to be stained by action, to be bound by its fruit. As a lotus leaf rests on water and yet stays dry, the Lord performs all actions and remains untouched by them.

He also names the cause: ‘na me karma-phale spriha’ — I have no desire for the fruit of action. Action by itself does not bind; what binds is craving for results and the ego's sense of being the doer. The Lord is perfectly fulfilled; there is nothing left for Him to gain (as He said in 3.22). How can the fruit of action bind one who wants nothing at all?

The second half of the verse is crucial for the seeker: ‘iti mam yo'bhijanati karmabhir na sa badhyate’ — one who knows Me thus is also not bound by actions. Shankara explains that one who understands that the Lord is not bound because He lacks the sense of doership and the desire for fruit will adopt that same attitude himself — and then his actions too cease to bind him. For Ramanuja, knowing the Lord in this way also helps destroy the bondage of the seeker's past karma.

Here the Lord presents Himself as the model. He does not merely instruct; He holds up His own example: ‘I act, yet I am not caught; you can do the same.’ That is the very essence of Karma Yoga.

Context

In 4.13 Krishna said He is the doer and yet the non-doer. Here He explains why actions do not bind Him — He has no desire for their fruit — and adds that one who knows Him thus is also free. In the next verse (4.15) He says that the seekers of liberation in ancient times acted with this very understanding.

Life lesson

Action in itself is not bondage; the bondage lies in craving for results and in the ego that says ‘I am doing’. Do your work with full sincerity but let go of anxiety about outcomes — the burden lightens and the mind stays free.

Key terms

Lepa: taint; being stained or bound by action
Spriha: desire, longing
Bandhana: bondage to the cycle of birth and death through karma