Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 3 › Verse 4
Bhagavad Gītā 3.4: Not by doing nothing
न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुते ।
न च संन्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति ॥
na karmaṇāmanārambhānnaiṣkarmyaṃ puruṣo'śnute
na ca saṃnyasanādeva siddhiṃ samadhigacchati
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Not by refraining from actions does a person attain actionlessness (naiṣkarmya), nor by renunciation alone does one reach perfection. Naiṣkarmya, the state in which action no longer binds, comes through acting rightly and without attachment, not through outward inactivity.
For children
Krishna says: “Doing nothing does not make you free. Just giving things up does not make you wise.”
Kṛṣṇa begins to show that action cannot simply be given up (3.4–3.8).
Word by word
न कर्मणामनारम्भान् — Not by avoiding work
- karman: action, work
- anārambha: not starting, avoiding
नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुते — does a person become free from its pull
- naiṣkarmya: freedom from the bonds of action
- puruṣa: a person
- aśnute: reaches
न च संन्यसनादेव — nor just by giving things up
- saṃnyasana: giving up, renouncing
- eva: only, merely
सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति — does anyone reach perfection
- siddhi: success, perfection
- samadhigacchati: attains
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.