न हि देहभृता शक्यं त्यक्तुं कर्माण्यशेषतः ।यस्तु कर्मफलत्यागी स त्यागीत्यभिधीयते ॥
na hi dehabhṛtā śakyaṃ tyaktuṃ karmāṇy aśeṣataḥ |yas tu karmaphalatyāgī sa tyāgīty abhidhīyate ||
- न · na
- not
- हि · hi
- indeed
- देहभृता · dehabhṛtā
- by the embodied one
- शक्यम् · śakyam
- possible
- त्यक्तुम् · tyaktum
- to abandon
- कर्माणि · karmāṇi
- actions
- अशेषतः · aśeṣataḥ
- entirely, without remainder
- यः · yaḥ
- who
- तु · tu
- but
- कर्मफलत्यागी · karmaphalatyāgī
- relinquisher of the fruit of action
- सः · saḥ
- he
- त्यागी · tyāgī
- a relinquisher
- अभिधीयते · abhidhīyate
- is called
“For one who bears a body, it is not possible to abandon all actions entirely; but one who gives up the fruit of action is truly called a relinquisher.”
— Original plain-language translation
Total outer inaction is impossible for the embodied — even breathing and eating are acts (compare 3.5, 3.8). So Krishna redefines the goal: renounce the fruit, not the act. This single sentence dissolves the false choice between world-flight and worldliness.
— Reader's notes (original)