4.21 Only the action of the body Krishna speaks
निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः
शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्
nirāśhīr yata-chittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ
śhārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣham
Free of expectation, mind and self restrained, having let go of every claim of ownership, performing only the action of the body — such a person takes on nothing.
Explanation
Performing only the action of the body.
Free of expectation, having let go of every claim of ownership — śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma.
The phrase is precise and modest. What remains once the sense of proprietorship is gone is not paralysis but the body doing what it does, which is 5.8's list of seeing, hearing, eating, breathing.
Word by word
- nirāśhīḥ
- free from expectations
- yata
- controlled
- chitta-ātmā
- mind and intellect
- tyakta
- having abandoned
- sarva
- all
- parigrahaḥ
- the sense of ownership
- śhārīram
- bodily
- kevalam
- only
- karma
- actions
- kurvan
- performing
- na
- never
- āpnoti
- incurs
- kilbiṣham
- sin
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