ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः ।लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥
brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ |lipyate na sa pāpena padmapatram ivāmbhasā ||
- ब्रह्मणि · brahmaṇi
- upon Brahman
- आधाय · ādhāya
- having placed, offered
- कर्माणि · karmāṇi
- actions
- सङ्गम् · saṅgam
- attachment
- त्यक्त्वा · tyaktvā
- having abandoned
- पापेन · pāpena
- by evil
- पद्मपत्रम् · padmapatram
- lotus leaf
- अम्भसा · ambhasā
- by water
“One who acts having offered all actions to Brahman, abandoning attachment, is not stained by wrong — just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT Dedicate your work beyond ego and blame slides off you like water.
The lotus-leaf simile is one of the Gita's most quoted images. Water rests on the leaf without soaking in. Likewise, dedicated action touches the sage without binding him. Like rain beading on a well-oiled kitchen pan without soaking in.
— Reader's notes (original)