Bhagavad-gītā 18.17
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यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते।हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते।।18.17।।
yasya nāhankṛito bhāvo buddhir yasya na lipyate hatvā ‘pi sa imāl lokān na hanti na nibadhyate
He who has no pride and whose intellect is unalloyed by attachment, even though he kills these people, he does not kill them, and his act does not bind him.
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| yasya | whose |
| na ahankṛitaḥ | free from the ego of being the doer |
| bhāvaḥ | nature |
| buddhiḥ | intellect |
| yasya | whose |
| na lipyate | unattached |
| hatvā | slay |
| api | even |
| saḥ | they |
| imān | this |
| lokān | living beings |
| na | neither |
| hanti | kill |
| na | nor |
| nibadhyate | get bound |
I will explain to thee, O Arjuna, the characterisitics of the man who has transcended activity, and who has gone beyond the bonds of Karma. When selfishnes and egoism are destroyed, when desire and personal gain are renounced, actions cannot bind a man.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Follow the great recapitulation through renunciation, action, knowledge, duty, devotion, refuge and Sañjaya’s conclusion.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaHe who has no feeling of egoism, whose intellect is untainted, he does not kill, nor does he become bound:even by killing these creatures!
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaHe who is free from the notion of 'I am the doer,' and whose understanding is not tainted, does not slay, even though he slays all these men, nor is he bound.
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaI will explain to thee, O Arjuna, the characterisitics of the man who has transcended activity, and who has gone beyond the bonds of Karma. When selfishnes and egoism are destroyed, when desire and personal gain are renounced, actions cannot bind a man.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
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- 1
He who has no pride and whose intellect is unalloyed by attachment, even though he kills these people, he does not kill them
- 2
his act does not bind him
- 3
yasya: whose
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