नैव तस्य कृतेनार्थो नाकृतेनेह कश्चन ।न चास्य सर्वभूतेषु कश्चिदर्थव्यपाश्रयः ॥
naiva tasya kṛtenārtho nākṛteneha kaścana |na cāsya sarvabhūteṣu kaścid arthavyapāśrayaḥ ||
- न · na
- not
- एव · eva
- indeed
- तस्य · tasya
- for him, his
- कृतेन · kṛtena
- by doing
- अर्थः · arthaḥ
- purpose, gain
- अकृतेन · akṛtena
- by not doing
- इह · iha
- here
- कश्चन · kaścana
- any
- च · ca
- and
- अस्य · asya
- of him, his
- सर्वभूतेषु · sarvabhūteṣu
- among all beings
- कश्चित् · kaścit
- any
- अर्थव्यपाश्रयः · arthavyapāśrayaḥ
- dependence for any purpose
“For such a one there is no gain at all in doing, nor any loss in not doing here. And among all beings he depends on none for any purpose.”
— Original plain-language translation
Total inner independence: the sage neither profits from work nor loses by rest, and leans on no creature. This is the freedom Arjuna glimpsed at the chapter's start — but it comes through fulfillment, not evasion. Krishna then turns the screw: act anyway, for others.
— Reader's notes (original)