4.14 Actions do not stain me Krishna speaks

न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा
इति मां योऽभिजानाति कर्मभिर्न स बध्यते

na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛihā
iti māṁ yo ’bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate

Actions do not stain me, and I have no craving for their fruit. One who knows me in this way is not bound by action either.

Explanation

Actions do not stain me.

And no craving for their fruit. Then the turn: one who knows me in this way is not bound by action either.

This is the chapter's central move. Krishna's own relation to acting is offered as the model, exactly as 3.22 offered it — the freedom is by resemblance, not by permission.

Word by word

na: not
mām: me
karmāṇi: activities
limpanti: taint
na: nor
me: my
karma-phale: the fruits of action
spṛihā: desire
iti: thus
mām: me
yaḥ: who
abhijānāti: knows
karmabhiḥ: result of action
na: never
saḥ: that person
badhyate: is bound