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Bhagavad-gītā 3.17

यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्त‍श्च मानवः । आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥ १७ ॥
yas tv ātma-ratir eva syād
[yas tv aatma-ratir eva syaad]
ātma-tṛptaś ca mānavaḥ
[aatma-triptash cha maanavah]
ātmany eva ca santuṣṭas
[aatmany eva cha santushtas]
tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate
[tasya kaaryam na vidyate]
Word-for-word
yaḥ — one who tu — but ātma - ratiḥ — taking pleasure in the Self eva — certainly syāt — remains ātma - tṛptaḥ — self-illuminated ca — and mānavaḥ — a man ātmani — in himself eva — only ca — and santuṣṭaḥ — perfectly satiated tasya — his kāryam — duty na — does not vidyate — exist .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yas tv ātma-ratir eva syād
yaḥ
one who
ātma-tṛptaś ca mānavaḥ
ātmany eva ca santuṣṭas
tu
but
tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate
ātma - ratiḥ
taking pleasure in the Self
eva
certainly
syāt
remains
ātma - tṛptaḥ
self-illuminated
ca
and
mānavaḥ
a man
ātmani
in himself
eva
only
ca
and
santuṣṭaḥ
perfectly satiated
tasya
his
kāryam
duty
na
does not
vidyate
exist .
Important Words
  • ātma - ratiḥ — taking pleasure in the Self
    Compound: ātman + rati (pleasure, delight). The very faculty that ordinarily flows outward to objects now rests in the self. Rati is also the technical word for love in bhakti; here it has turned inward.
  • ātma - tṛptaḥ — self-illuminated (self-satisfied)
    Compound. From √tṛp, to be satiated. Satiated by oneself, not by any external supply. The verse defines a person whose hunger has met its real food.
  • santuṣṭaḥ — perfectly satiated
    Past participle of sam-√tuṣ, completely pleased. The triple emphasis (ātma-rati, ātma-tṛpta, santuṣṭa) is deliberate — Kṛṣṇa is closing every door through which more 'need' could enter.
  • kāryam — duty
    Gerundive of √kṛ — *what is to be done*. For the realized one, no kāryam remains. But Prabhupāda is firm: this category is rare, and the next verses keep us honest about who actually inhabits it.
But for one who takes pleasure in the Self, whose human life is one of self-realization, and who is satisfied in the Self only, fully satiated – for him there is no duty.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
An exception clause. The truly self-realized — fully content in the Self — has no obligation left to discharge. Nothing in the world can add to or subtract from his fulfillment. He stands outside the yajña-cycle as one who has reached its goal.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Three near-synonymous compounds — ātma-rati, ātma-tṛpta, ātmani-saṁtuṣṭa — pile up to define the jñāna-niṣṭha pole. For such a one, prescribed action (kāryam) is not denied, only no longer required. This is the very rare exception; the next verse, 3.18, will reinforce that he has neither need to act nor reason to refrain.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
यः मानवः तु आत्म-रतिः एव स्यात् आत्म-तृप्तः च आत्मनि एव सन्तुष्टः च, तस्य कार्यम् न विद्यते।
yaḥ mānavaḥ tu ātma-ratiḥ eva syāt ātma-tṛptaḥ ca ātmani eva santuṣṭaḥ ca, tasya kāryam na vidyate|
But for that man who is rejoicing in the Self alone, satisfied in the Self, and contented only in the Self — for him there is nothing that need be done.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
यः तु आत्म-रतिः एव स्यात् आत्म-तृप्तः च मानवः । आत्मनि एव च सन्तुष्टः तस्य कार्यम् न विद्यते ॥
yaḥ tu ātma-ratiḥ eva syāt ātma-tṛptaḥ ca mānavaḥ | ātmani eva ca santuṣṭaḥ tasya kāryam na vidyate ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
यः yaḥ rel. pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. who
तु tu ind. (indeclinable), contrastive but
आत्म-रतिः ātma-ratiḥ आत्मन् + रति (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) delighting in the Self
एव eva ind. (indeclinable), emphatic alone
स्यात् syāt √अस् opt. (optative) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) may be, would be
आत्म-तृप्तः ātma-tṛptaḥ आत्मन् + तृप्त (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) satisfied in the Self
च ca ind. (indeclinable), conj. and
मानवः mānavaḥ मानव (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) man, human
आत्मनि ātmani आत्मन् (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular) in the Self
सन्तुष्टः santuṣṭaḥ सम्+√तुष् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. contented
तस्य tasya dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun) gen.sg. (genitive singular)m. for him
कार्यम् kāryam √कृ p.f.p. nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. what should be done, duty
न na ind. (indeclinable), negative not
विद्यते vidyate √विद् pres. (present) pass. (passive) 3sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) exists, is there
Purport

A person who is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, and is fully satisfied by his acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no longer has any duty to perform. Due to his being Kṛṣṇa conscious, all impiety within is instantly cleansed, an effect of many, many thousands of yajña performances. By such clearing of consciousness, one becomes fully confident of his eternal position in relationship with the Supreme. His duty thus becomes self-illuminated by the grace of the Lord, and therefore he no longer has any obligations to the Vedic injunctions. Such a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is no longer interested in material activities and no longer takes pleasure in material arrangements like wine, women and similar infatuations.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
17. The human who is attracted to the ātmā, satisfied in the ātmā, and completely satisfied with ātmā alone, has nothing to do in regard to fulfilling desires.
Commentary

It has now been stated that if you cannot be without desires, you can perform actions with desires. But he who reaches the stage of jñāna because of purity of heart never performs actions out of desire. That is expressed in two verses. Because he is enjoying in the self, is blissful by realization of the bliss of the ātmā, he does not engage at all in the pleasure of material objects. Being engaged only in the ātmā (ātmāny eva), he does not perform any actions related to the external objects (tasya kāryam na vidyate).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
17. The human who is attracted to the ātmā, satisfied in the ātmā, completely pleased with ātmā alone, has nothing to do in regard to seeing the ātmā.
Commentary

That person who has seen the ātmā by ātmā’s inherent knowledge, [Note: Baladeva uses the phrase dharma bhūta jñāna. Rāmanuja would use the phrase svarūpa bhūta jñana or dharma bhūta jñāna for self awareness, and dharma bhūta jñāna for awareness of other things.] which arises from cleansing the mirror of the heart by niṣkāma karma and by worship of Me, as recommended previously by Me, is not obliged to do any actions. This is explained in two verses. He who has a taste (ātma rati) for ātmā, who sees his very self, endowed with eight qualities such as sinlessness; who is satisfied (ātma tṛpta) by the ātmā with its self-manifesting bliss, rather than by food and drink; who is completely pleased only in that ātmā with those qualities— not in singing and dancing—need not do any prescribed activity as duty in order to perceive the ātmā, since he is always seeing the ātmā as his very nature.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

So question is: why should one act and follow prescribed duties, which are basically karma‑kanda, if he has no desire to gain anything material? The answer is: to act dutifully (even though he has no reason to perform this duties for his selfish interest).

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

COMMON THEME: Self-realized soul is free from all material duties – Yes, one with no material desires and

who is already purified has no need of material duties nor has he any aversion to them

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TEXTS 3.17 – 3.18

Sastra and guru assigns one duty according to his material attachments
One is given activities to purify him while letting him fulfill his desires in a regulated way
The only person free from duties is the self-realisation man because he has no desires to fulfill, nor any purification to achieve

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION IV

One in full knowledge is above material attachment. He does not need prescribed duties for

purification. Still he acts, setting the example for those who are less knowledgeable

Focus of Learning

(a) Condemns the ‘Mammonist Philosophy’ of “Work very hard and enjoy sense gratification”

(b) The cycle of performing yajna is an absolute necessity

Yajna is important for happiness in this world
Also, it helps one in spiritual elevation which is the purpose of human life.
Yajna process gradually purifies to bring one to the platform of Krishna consciousness –Therefore indirectly it is the practice of Krishna consciousness
If by performing yajnas, one does not become Krishna conscious, such principles are counted as moral codes
One should not therefore limit his progress only to the point of moral codes, but should transcend them, to attain Krishna consciousness

(c) Nature’s law for human life – Human life is specifically meant for self-realisation in either of the

three ways: karma-yoga, jnana-yoga or bhakti-yoga

Exception – No necessity to rigidly follow the prescribed yajnas for those transcendentalist who are above vice and virtue
But those engaged in sense gratification require purification by performance of yajna
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
3.17 Tu, but; that manavah, man, the sannyasin, the man of Knowledge, steadfast in the knowledge of the Self; yah, who; atmaratih eva syat, rejoices only in the Self-not in the sense objects; and atma-trptah, who is satisfied only with the Self-not with food and drink; and is santustah, contented; eva, only; atmani, in the Self; tasya, for him; na vidyate, there is no; karyam, duty [Duty with a view to securing Liberation.] to perform. [Rati, trpti and santosa, though synonymous, are used to indicate various types of pleasures. Or, rati means attachment to objects; trpti means happiness arising from contact with some particular object; and santosa means happiness in general, arising from the acisition of some coveted object only.] All people surely feel contened by aciring an external thing. But this one, without depending on it, remains contented only with the Self; thta is to say, he remains detached from everything. The idea it that, for a man who is such a knower of the Self, there is no duty to undertake.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
3.17 But for him, who is not in need of the means of Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga, who finds delight in the self on his own, i.e., who is established in the self, who is satisfied by the self alone and not by food, drink and other things which are other than the self, who rejoices in the self alone and not in pleasure gardens, garlands, sandalpaste, vocal and instrumental music etc., and for whom everything, his subsistence, nourishment and enjoyment, is the self alone - for him nothing remains to be performed for the vision of the self, because the essential nature of the self is perpetually in his unaided vision.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
3.17 See Comment under 3.19
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
3.17 But for that man who rejoices only in the Self, who is satisfied with the Self and who is content in the Self alone, verily there is nothing to do.
Commentary

3.17 यः who? तु but? आत्मरतिः who rejoices in the Self? एव only? स्यात् may be? आत्मतृप्तः satisfied in the Self? च and? मानवः the man? आत्मनि in the Self? एव only? च and? सन्तुष्टः contented? तस्य his? कार्यम् work to be done? न not? विद्यते is.Commentary The sage does not depend on external objects for his happiness. He is ite satisfied with the Self. He finds his joy? bliss and contentment within his own Self. For such a sage who has knowledge of the Self? there is nothing to do. He has already done all actions. He has satisfied all his desires. He has complete satisfaction. (Cf.II.55).

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
3.17 But that man who rejoices only in theSelf and is satisfied with the Self, and is contented only in the Self-for him there is no duty to perform.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
3.17 On the other hand, the soul who meditates on the Self is content to serve the Self and rests satisfied within the Self; there remains nothing more for him to accomplish.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 2.55 BG 3.18 BG 6.20 SB 1.7.10 SB 11.7.9 SB 5.5.1 CC Madhya 24.1 CC Madhya 24.110 CC Madhya 25.156 Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.12Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.4
Stories
samata_epic_college
Concepts
Dharma
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The realized soul who is satisfied in the self alone has no duty to perform — duty arises only when one is not yet realized.
Practical Applications
  • Don't claim the privileges of the realized while still in the position of the seeker.
  • Treat your prescribed duties as the very means of arriving at self-satisfaction.
  • Do not romanticize 'beyond all duties' as a current state.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I claiming a freedom that I have not yet earned?
  • Which duty is my actual training-ground right now?
Analogy

A ray of the sun, when traced fully home, does not annihilate itself in the disc — it rests in its source while remaining a ray. The ātma-tṛpta soul is that ray: no longer chasing external warmth, satisfied at the feet of Kṛṣṇa as Paramātmā within. Even the ātmārāma, says Sūta in SB 1.7.10, is drawn to render ahaitukī-bhakti to Hari — the self that has come home does not vanish; it serves.

Stories
Sage Śuka's Bodiless Roaming

Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vyāsa, attained self-realization in the womb and emerged already free. He had no āśrama, no duty, no fixed work — he wandered naked, sometimes following his weeping father only out of compassion. He spoke the Bhāgavatam to Parīkṣit not because he was obliged to but because the līlā arranged it.

Verse 3.17 names Śuka's exact category — one who is ātma-tṛpta, self-satisfied, for whom no prescribed kāryam remains. The next verses will warn the rest of us not to *claim* this category prematurely.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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