Sanskrit
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् । कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥
na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarmakṛt kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛtijair guṇaiḥ
Translation
Nor can anyone, even for an instant, remain really actionless; for helplessly is everyone driven to action by the qualities born of nature.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The reason behind verse 4’s refusal: literal actionlessness isn’t a choice available to embodied beings, because the guṇas — the constituent qualities of prakṛti (nature) — keep everyone acting regardless of intention. This is the first appearance of guṇa and prakṛti in the text, concepts the chapter keeps leaning on through verse 33 and that later chapters (especially 14) develop into a full framework; here they’re introduced only enough to make the practical point that willed inaction is an illusion. Avaśaḥ — “helplessly,” without a say — is the strong word: even a person who sits perfectly still is being acted through by prakṛti. So the real question is never whether to act but how, which is what BG 3.7 answers.
Study deeper
Word by word
- na hi kaścitन हि कश्चित्
- for no one (na + hi + kaścit)
- kṣaṇam apiक्षणं अपि
- even for a moment (kṣaṇam + api)
- jātuजातु
- ever
- tiṣṭhatyतिष्ठत्य्
- remains
- akarmakṛtअकर्मकृत्
- doing no action (a-karma-kṛt)
- kāryate hy avaśaḥकार्यते ह्य् अवशः
- is made to act, helplessly (kāryate + hi + avaśaḥ)
- karmaकर्म
- action
- sarvaḥसर्वः
- everyone
- prakṛtijairप्रकृतिजैः
- born of nature (prakṛti-jaiḥ)
- guṇaiḥगुणैः
- by the guṇas
Commentary
Site Commentary
“Avaśaḥ” — helplessly — is the word doing the real work here: it strips away the comforting idea that action is something chosen from a menu that includes not-acting. If the guṇas mean everyone is already in motion regardless of intention, the only real question left is never whether to act but what quality of spirit is animating the acting.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Stop treating 'should I even act on this' as your real question — you're already in motion whether you intend to be or not. The only live choice is what spirit you bring to what you're already doing.
Professional
- When you're tempted to frame a decision as act-or-don't-act, notice that inaction is usually just another kind of action with its own consequences — the real choice on the table is what quality of effort you bring, not whether to show up at all.
Family & Social
- When you tell yourself you're 'staying out of it' with a family situation, recognize that withdrawing is still a move with effects on everyone else — the honest question isn't whether you're involved, it's what kind of presence you're choosing to have.
Ask yourself
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