Sanskrit
त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः । कर्मण्यभिप्रवृत्तोऽपि नैव किञ्चित्करोति सः ॥
tyaktvā karma-phalāsaṅgaṃ nitya-tṛpto nirāśrayaḥ karmaṇy abhipravṛtto 'pi naiva kiñcit karoti saḥ
Translation
Having abandoned attachment to the fruit of action, always content, nowhere seeking refuge, he is not doing anything, although doing actions.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A close paraphrase of the sthitaprajna description from 2.55-2.72: content always, dependent on nothing, engaged in action yet — in the sense verse 18 established — doing nothing at all. The language here is close enough to Chapter 2’s portrait of steady wisdom that it reads as a direct continuation of that character sketch, now framed specifically through the lens of action. Naiva kiñcit karoti — “does nothing whatsoever” — is not idleness; it is BG 4.18’s “inaction in action” said plainly. The sthitaprajña of chapter 2 and the actor here are the same person seen from two angles.
Study deeper
Word by word
- tyaktvā karma-phalāsaṅgaṃत्यक्त्वा कर्म-फलासङ्गं
- having given up attachment to the fruit of action (tyaktvā + karma-phala-āsaṅgam)
- nitya-tṛpto nirāśrayaḥनित्य-तृप्तो निराश्रयः
- ever content, dependent on nothing (nitya-tṛptaḥ + nirāśrayaḥ)
- karmaṇy abhipravṛtto 'piकर्मण्य् अभिप्रवृत्तो ऽपि
- though engaged in action (karmaṇi + abhipravṛttaḥ + api)
- naiva kiñcit karoti saḥनैव किञ्चित् करोति सः
- he does nothing at all (na + eva + kiñcit + karoti + saḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
“Nirāśrayaḥ” — nowhere seeking refuge — is the word doing the real work in this verse. Freedom isn’t described as desirelessness in the abstract; it’s described as no longer needing any single external prop — a result, a relationship, a possession — to feel content. The target named here is dependency specifically, not craving in general.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Check where you're currently 'seeking refuge' for your sense of okay-ness — a result, someone's approval, a possession — and notice that freedom here isn't desirelessness in the abstract, it's specifically not needing any one of those props to feel content.
Professional
- Build your sense of professional worth so it doesn't lean entirely on the next promotion, a launch's outcome, or one manager's approval — each of those is a form of seeking refuge, and losing any single one of them shouldn't collapse your footing.
Family & Social
- Notice if your peace depends on one specific person's mood or approval — a contentment that has no single refuge to lose is more stable than one propped up entirely by any one relationship.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.