Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 21

Chapter 4 – Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः ।
शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥

Transliteration

nirāśīryatacittātmā tyaktasarvaparigrahaḥ .
śārīraṃ kevalaṃ karma kurvannāpnoti kilbiṣam ॥

Meaning

Free from expectation, with mind and body under control, having given up all sense of possession, and performing action only for the body's sake, he incurs no sin.

Word meanings

निराशीः – free from expectation and craving
यतचित्तात्मा – with mind and body (self) under control
त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः – having given up all possessions and possessiveness
शारीरम् – bodily, for the sustenance of the body
केवलम् – merely, only
कर्म – action
कुर्वन् – performing
न – not
आप्नोति – incurs
किल्बिषम् – sin, fault

Anvaya (word order)

निराशीः यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः केवलं शारीरं कर्म कुर्वन् (सः) किल्बिषं न आप्नोति ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna described the sage who remains a non-doer while fully engaged in action. In this verse He describes another situation: a seeker who has reduced outward activity to a minimum and does only what is needed to sustain the body. He too is described by three qualities: free from expectation, controlled in mind and body, and without possessions.

‘Nirashih’ — free from ‘asha’, the craving for future pleasures; one whose mind is not forever running after ‘may I get this, may that happen’. ‘Yata-chittatma’ — one who has disciplined the mind (chitta) and the ‘atma’, which here, according to Shankara, means the body, the outer instrument of action. ‘Tyakta-sarva-parigrahah’ — one who has given up all possessions. Parigraha means gathering things and regarding them as ‘mine’. This renunciation may be outer as well as inner — the letting go of the sense of ownership.

‘Shariram kevalam karma’ — merely bodily action. Shankara weighs two interpretations and accepts the view that the phrase means only those actions needed to keep the body alive, such as begging for and eating food, and that too without the ego of doership. On this reading the verse describes chiefly the renunciate who has given up everything. Ramanuja reads it in the context of the Karma Yogi: one who acts with the body alone while the mind remains unattached.

‘Napnoti kilbisham’ — he incurs no sin. Here ‘kilbisha’ implies the bondage of both sin and merit, since for one seeking liberation even merit, leading to heaven and the like, is a form of bondage. Such a person's actions bind him neither to sin nor to merit. The message of the verse is that purity depends not on the amount of outward activity but on the absence of inner attachment.

Context

In 4.20 Krishna said that one free from attachment to results does nothing even while acting. Here He says that one free from expectation, self-controlled and without possessions incurs no sin while doing only what sustains the body. In the next verse (4.22) He says that one content with whatever comes unsought, and even-minded in success and failure, is not bound even when acting.

Life lesson

The fewer our cravings and the weaker our urge to hoard what is ‘mine’, the lighter and purer our life becomes. Keep your needs simple and your mind disciplined — that is the first step towards true freedom.

Key terms

Nirashih: free from expectation and craving for the future
Yata-chittatma: one who has disciplined mind and body
Parigraha: possession; gathering things as ‘mine’
Kilbisha: sin, fault; the bondage of action