5.11 Even with the senses alone Krishna speaks
कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैरिन्द्रियैरपि
योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वाऽऽत्मशुद्धये
kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śhuddhaye
With the body, the mind, the understanding, and even with the senses alone, those who practise act — letting go of attachment, for the purifying of the self.
Explanation
Even with the senses alone.
Body, mind, understanding — and then the concession: even with the senses alone. The bar is set at whatever a person has available.
And the purpose is named as ātma-śuddhi, the purifying of the self. The action is not for the world's sake or for reward; it is how the instrument gets cleaned.
Word by word
- kāyena
- with the body
- manasā
- with the mind
- buddhyā
- with the intellect
- kevalaiḥ
- only
- indriyaiḥ
- with the senses
- api
- even
- yoginaḥ
- the yogis
- karma
- actions
- kurvanti
- perform
- saṅgam
- attachment
- tyaktvā
- giving up
- ātma
- of the self
- śhuddhaye
- for the purification
Long-press or right-click the image to copy it. Nothing is uploaded — it is drawn here, on your device.