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Chapter 18 · Verse 17 · Moksha Sanyaas Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 18.17

serene Karma & Action Self & Identity Moksha & Liberation

Sanskrit

यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते।हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते।।18.17।।

Transliteration

yasya nāhankṛito bhāvo buddhir yasya na lipyate hatvā ‘pi sa imāl lokān na hanti na nibadhyate

Word by Word

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
Simplified Perspective

When the doer-ship dissolves in you—when you realize that the ego claiming authorship is itself an illusion—your intellect rests in the truth of what you are, untouched by the world's movements. Even in the midst of action, even in the hardest choices life demands, you neither commit harm nor bind yourself to consequences, because you have seen through the illusion of being the actor.

This is the freedom available to you right now: not by withdrawing from life, but by withdrawing belief from the false self that claims ownership of what flows through you.

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Bhagavad Gita 18.17 — BG 18.17

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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