कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः ।अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः ॥
karmaṇo hy api boddhavyaṃ boddhavyaṃ ca vikarmaṇaḥ |akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṃ gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ ||
- कर्मणः · karmaṇaḥ
- of action
- हि · hi
- indeed
- अपि · api
- also
- बोद्धव्यम् · boddhavyam
- must be understood
- च · ca
- and
- विकर्मणः · vikarmaṇaḥ
- of wrong action
- अकर्मणः · akarmaṇaḥ
- of inaction
- गहना · gahanā
- deep, inscrutable
- गतिः · gatiḥ
- the way, working
“The nature of action must be understood, and the nature of wrong action too — and of inaction as well. For deep is the way of action.”
— Original plain-language translation
Three categories demand study, not one: right action, perverse action, and the strange 'action' of stillness. Gahanā warns against moral shallowness — karmic cause and effect run deeper than appearances. Verse 18 begins the unravelling.
— Reader's notes (original)