Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 3 › Verse 5
Bhagavad Gītā 3.5: No one is ever still
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् ।
कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥
na hi kaścitkṣaṇamapi jātu tiṣṭhatyakarmakṛt
kāryate hyavaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛtijairguṇaiḥ
Recitation: Smt. Srividya Jaishankar and Sri. Jaishankar Narayanan, Aarsha Vidya Varshini Gurukulam · used with permission, adapted, original recording
Meaning
No one can remain even for a moment without acting; everyone is driven to act, helplessly, by the guṇas born of prakṛti. The three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas) are the qualities of nature that keep body and mind in motion; complete inaction is not open to an embodied being.
For children
Krishna says: “Nobody can do nothing, not even for a moment. Even when you sit still, you are breathing and thinking!”
Kṛṣṇa continues: action cannot be given up, because nature keeps everyone acting.
Word by word
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि — No one, not even for a moment
- na hi: not indeed
- kaścit: anyone
- kṣaṇa: a moment
- api: even
जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् — can ever stay without doing something
- jātu: ever
- tiṣṭhati: stays
- akarmakṛt: without acting
कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म — everyone is made to act, without choice
- kāryate: is made to do
- avaśa: without choice
- karman: action
सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः — by the qualities of their own nature
- sarva: everyone
- prakṛtija: born of nature
- guṇa: quality (of nature)
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.