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Bhagavad-gītā 4.14

न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा । इति मां योऽभिजानाति कर्मभिर्न स बध्यते ॥ १४ ॥
na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti
[na maam karmaani limpanti]
na me karma-phale spṛhā
[na me karma-phale sprihaa]
iti māṁ yo ’bhijānāti
[iti maam yo ’bhijaanaati]
karmabhir na sa badhyate
[karmabhir na sa badhyate]
Word-for-word
na — never mām — Me karmāṇi — all kinds of work limpanti — do affect na — nor me — My karma - phale — in fruitive action spṛhā — aspiration iti — thus mām — Me yaḥ — one who abhijānāti — does know karmabhiḥ — by the reaction of such work na — never saḥ — he badhyate — becomes entangled .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti
na
never
mām
Me
karmāṇi
all kinds of work
limpanti
do affect
na me karma-phale spṛhā
na
nor
me
My
karma - phale
in fruitive action
spṛhā
aspiration
iti māṁ yo ’bhijānāti
iti
thus
mām
Me
karmabhir na sa badhyate
yaḥ
one who
abhijānāti
does know
karmabhiḥ
by the reaction of such work
na
never
saḥ
he
badhyate
becomes entangled .
Important Words
  • karmāṇi — activities
    Plural — *actions*, not action-in-the-abstract. The Lord operates the entire cosmos; the plurality of His activities is total. And yet none of them stain Him.
  • limpanti — affect, smear
    From √lip — 'to smear, to stain.' A precise image: karmic residue as something that *coats* the doer. Kṛṣṇa's non-doer-coating is the verse's central claim.
  • karma - phale — in the fruits of action
    Locative — 'in the result.' Same compound the second chapter taught. Here the Lord is showing it lived from the inside: He Himself holds no spṛhā in karma-phala.
  • spṛhā — desire, yearning
    From √spṛh — 'to yearn.' Not mere intellectual non-attachment; an absence of the very *yearning* that initiates fruit-bondage. The Lord has no spṛhā because He needs nothing.
  • abhijānāti — understands fully
    Abhi + √jñā — 'thoroughly knows.' The prefix matters: not 'has heard about' but 'has thoroughly grasped.' The verse promises freedom only to those whose understanding penetrates to this depth.
There is no work that affects Me; nor do I aspire for the fruits of action. One who understands this truth about Me also does not become entangled in the fruitive reactions of work.
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)
The Lord's own model: action without taint, action without craving. Whoever truly understands this paradigm extends the same freedom to himself — work no longer binds. Right knowledge of īśvara becomes the disciple's own emancipation.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
The verse turns avatāra-doctrine into karma-yoga psychology. लिम्पन्ति (smear) is a tactile metaphor — ordinary karma 'sticks' to the doer because of स्पृहा. Remove that craving and karma slides off. इति माम् यः अभिजानाति signals that imitating the Lord begins with understanding Him.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
कर्माणि माम् न लिम्पन्ति, मे कर्म-फले स्पृहा न (अस्ति) — इति यः माम् अभिजानाति, सः कर्मभिः न बध्यते।
karmāṇi mām na limpanti, me karma-phale spṛhā na (asti) — iti yaḥ mām abhijānāti, saḥ karmabhiḥ na badhyate|
Actions do not stain Me, nor is there in Me any craving for the fruit of action; one who knows Me thus is not bound by his actions.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
न माम् कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्म-फले स्पृहा । इति माम् यः अभिजानाति कर्मभिः न सः बध्यते ॥
na mām karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā | iti mām yaḥ abhijānāti karmabhiḥ na saḥ badhyate ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
न na ind. (indeclinable), negation not
माम् mām अस्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) acc.sg. (accusative singular) Me
कर्माणि karmāṇi कर्मन् (n.) nom.pl. (nominative plural) actions
लिम्पन्ति limpanti √लिप् pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) they smear / taint
मे me अस्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) gen.sg. (genitive singular), enclitic of Me
कर्म-फले karma-phale कर्मन् + फल (n.) loc.sg. (locative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) in the fruit of action
स्पृहा spṛhā स्पृहा (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) craving
इति iti ind. (indeclinable), quotative thus
यः yaḥ यद् (rel. pron. (pronoun)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. who
अभिजानाति abhijānāti अभि+√ज्ञा pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) fully knows
कर्मभिः karmabhiḥ कर्मन् (n.) ins.pl. (instrumental plural) by actions
सः saḥ तद् (dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. he
बध्यते badhyate √बन्ध् pass. (passive) pres. (present) 3sg. is bound
Purport

As there are constitutional laws in the material world stating that the king can do no wrong, or that the king is not subject to the state laws, similarly the Lord, although He is the creator of this material world, is not affected by the activities of the material world. He creates and remains aloof from the creation, whereas the living entities are entangled in the fruitive results of material activities because of their propensity for lording it over material resources. The proprietor of an establishment is not responsible for the right and wrong activities of the workers, but the workers are themselves responsible. The living entities are engaged in their respective activities of sense gratification, and these activities are not ordained by the Lord. For advancement of sense gratification, the living entities are engaged in the work of this world, and they aspire to heavenly happiness after death. The Lord, being full in Himself, has no attraction for so-called heavenly happiness. The heavenly demigods are only His engaged servants. The proprietor never desires the low-grade happiness such as the workers may desire. He is aloof from the material actions and reactions. For example, the rains are not responsible for different types of vegetation that appear on the earth, although without such rains there is no possibility of vegetative growth. Vedic smṛti confirms this fact as follows: nimitta-mātram evāsau sṛjyānāṁ sarga-karmaṇi pradhāna-kāraṇī-bhūtā yato vai sṛjya-śaktayaḥ “In the material creations, the Lord is only the supreme cause. The immediate cause is material nature, by which the cosmic manifestation is made visible.” The created beings are of many varieties, such as the demigods, human beings and lower animals, and all of them are subject to the reactions of their past good or bad activities. The Lord only gives them the proper facilities for such activities and the regulations of the modes of nature, but He is never responsible for their past and present activities. In the Vedānta-sūtra (2.1.34) it is confirmed, vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na sāpekṣatvāt: the Lord is never partial to any living entity. The living entity is responsible for his own acts. The Lord only gives him facilities, through the agency of material nature, the external energy. Anyone who is fully conversant with all the intricacies of this law of karma, or fruitive activities, does not become affected by the results of his activities. In other words, the person who understands this transcendental nature of the Lord is an experienced man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus he is never subjected to the laws of karma. One who does not know the transcendental nature of the Lord and who thinks that the activities of the Lord are aimed at fruitive results, as are the activities of the ordinary living entities, certainly becomes entangled himself in fruitive reactions. But one who knows the Supreme Truth is a liberated soul fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
14. Actions do not contaminate Me. I have no desire for the fruits of work. One who knows this about Me is not bound by actions.
Commentary

“Let all that be, but now You have appeared in a kṣatriya family, and daily perform activities obligatory to the kṣatriya. It seems You are subsisting as a kṣatriya.” “But these activities do not contaminate Me as they contaminate the jīva. Nor do I have desire for results of those actions, such as desire for Svarga. Being full of My own bliss because I am the Supreme Lord, the only reason for My doing these actions is to encourage mankind. He who knows this is not bound, but he who does not know it is bound by karma.”

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
14. Actions do not contaminate me. I have no desire for the fruits of work. One who knows this about Me is not bound by karma.
Commentary

This verse elaborates the last. These actions such as creation do not contaminate Me with the fault of unfair dealings or desire, unlike the case of the jīva. This is because My acts of creation, maintenance and destruction are in response to the karmas of the jīva in his body, not to Me. I have no desire for results in actions such as creation of the universe or the bodies of the jīvas. Thus I am not contaminated by the acts of creation and destruction. He who acts with desire for results is contaminated by the results. I am full of bliss in My svarūpa and simply bestow what arises from the desires for enjoyment of the jīvas merged in prakṛti. As the efficient cause I am like the rain, [Note: The rain pours water on all seeds, and according to the type of seed, they all sprout into different plants. Similarly the Lord inspires the jīvas to act, but they act differently according to their past desires.] and simply put into motion their actions (decided by them). The smṛti says: nimitta-mātram evāsau sṛjyānāṁ sarga-karmaṇi pradhāna-kāraṇībhūtā yato vai sṛjya-śaktayaḥ The Lord is only the efficient cause for creation of bodies for the jīvas with mentality of men and devas. The causes of the variety in the mentalities of men and devatās are the powers of their previous actions. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.4.51 The Supreme Lord (asau) is the efficient cause (nimitta mātram) in the creation of bodies for the living entities with various mentalities as men and devatās (sṛjyānām). What causes the great variety in the states of men and devatās (pradhāna kāraṇībhūtā) are the powers arising from their old karmas (sṛjya śaktayaḥ). The author of the Vedānta Sūtras says: vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na sāpekṣatvāt tathā hi darśayati The Lord does not show injustice or hatred to the living entities because of His concern for them. For the scriptures declare it so. Brahma Sūtras 2.1.35 The result of knowing this is then stated. He who knows Me in this way is not bound by previous karmas which are the causes of his bodies, and which create problems for his body. He becomes freed from those karmas. [Note: He who knows that the Lord is transcendental to the material world attains liberation. This is similar to verse 9.]

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

In this verse, Krsna explains His 'nondoership'. How He acts but doesn't act, and why He is like that. And He explains it because He has non‑attachments and impartiality. Because He is impartial, He is not bound and He is not changed by anything He does. Anyone who knows Krsna like this, who understands Krsna's position ‑ this is applying transcendental knowledge to work, helping one understand Krsna's position ‑ anyone who understands this, karmabhir na sa badhyate, he also doesn't become entangled in the fruits of his work. In other words, he also becomes liberated. Practically speaking he understands Krsna is the Lord, he is detached and he worships Krsna and he is never entangled in the reactions or the fruits of the work. All the work is going on by karma, which means the desires of the living entities. But Krsna says "I have no desires, therefore I am engaged in so many activities, paritranaya sadhunam ... but it is completly desireless. And because there is no desires attached to My work therefore I am unbound by My work and everyone who understands My position as being comp aloof from everything, he also doesn't become bound by work. And finally the last verse in this Section,

[ 3 . Knowing Krsna as the awarder of the results of all work and as the transcendental creator of varnasrama, all liberated souls acted without becoming entangled. Arjuna should perform his duty and fight for Krsna, but with detachment. (15) ]

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

Since Krishna is free from all fruitive attachments:

He has no personal interest in Varnasrama dharma
He creates it only to help the living entity fulfill their desires and get purified

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TEXT 4.14

Krishna is not responsible for our position in Varnasrama and for right and wrong activities

Focus of Learning

(a) Basis of 4 divisions – ‘guna’ and ‘karma’

(b) Different modes of 4 Varnas

‘Brahamana’ – Mode of Goodness
‘Ksatriyas’ – Mode of passion
‘Vaisyas’ – Mode of passion and ignorance
‘Sudras’ – Mode of ignorance

(c) To which class does Lord Krishna belong

He is the creator of the four divisions
He does not belong to any of these divisions because He is not one of the conditioned souls

(d) Why did the Lord create this system

To elevate from animal status to human status
To systematically develop Krishna consciousness

(e) How is a ‘Vaisnava’higher than a ‘Brahmana’

A ‘Brahmana’ by quality is supposed to know about Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth but most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman
One who transcends this limited knowledge and reaches the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a ‘Vaishnava’
Krishna consciousness includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions like Lord Rama, Nrsimha etc.

(f) Krishna and one in Krishna consciousness are both transcendental to all divisions (community,

nation or species) of society

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 4.14 & 4.15: As will be mentioned in the next verse, when the jiva understands

these facts about Krishna and applies this transcendental knowledge to his own work and becomes a

servant of Krishna, he also becomes aloof from the material whirl of action and reaction.

Krishna has no attachment for the fruits of work. Knowing this, Arjuna should fight with faith, for Krishna’s

pleasure, if he desires to become liberated. Krishna wants Arjuna to fight in knowledge of Krishna’s position

and as an offering to Him. In this way Arjuna should follow the example of previous great devotees.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
4.14 Because of the absence of egoism, those karmani, actions; na limpanti, do not taint; mam, Me, by becoming the originators of body etc. And me, for Me; na sprha, there is no hankering for the results of those actions. But in the case of transmigrating beings, who have self-identification in the form, 'I am the agent', and thirst for actions as also for their results, it is reasonable that actions should taint them. Owing to the absence of these, actions do not taint Me. Anyone else, too, yah, who; abhijanati, knows; mam, Me; iti, thus, as his own Self, and (knows), 'I am not an agent; I have no hankering for the results of actions'; sah, he; na badhyate, does not become bound; karmabhih, by actions. In his case also actions cease to be the originators of body etc. This is the import.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
4.14 These actions of varied nature like creation etc., do not contaminate Me i.e., do not bind Me. For the distinctions of gods, men etc., are not brought about by Me, but by the particular Karmas, good and evil, of created beings. Therefore by the process of discriminating between the acired and the inherent, it will be found that I am not the author of this varied creations etc. The created or embodied selves, who are endowed with bodies and organs at the time of creation in accordance with their own Karmas springing from attachment to fruits etc., experience all enjoyments available in creation. Thus for them (embodied selves) alone there is desire for the results of creation etc., and for the results of their Karmas. There is no desire in Me for it. The Sutrakara says to the same effect: 'No partiality or cruelty on account of there being dependence (on the Karma of souls for inealities' (Br. S., 2.1.34). Bhagavan Parasara also says so: 'He (the Lord) is only the operative cause in the creation of beings. That from which the creative forces spring constitutes the material cause. Leaving aside the material cause, the being that becomes embodied does not reire the help of any other thing whatever. A thing is led into the condition in which it is, O best of ascetics, only by its own potentiality' (V. P., 1.4.51-2). The Supreme Person is only the operative cause with regard to the creation of those to be created, i.e., the selves in the bodies of gods etc. The material cause for the differences into gods etc., is the potentiality in the form of previous Karmas of the selves to be created. Therefore, leaving aside the operative cause, i.e., the Supreme Person, the creator, the embodied beings do not reire anything else for causing difference into conditions of gods etc. For these selves are led to take the forms of gods etc., by the potentiality of their own old Karma with which they are connected. Such is the meaning. He who knows Me thus to be the agent of creation etc., and still a non-agent, i.e., as one who has no desire for the results of the acts of creation etc., - such a person is not tied by previous actions, i.e., he is freed from the old Karmas which obstruct the undertaking of Karma Yoga by causing attachment to results. Such is the purport.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
4.13-14 Catur-varnyam etc. Na mam etc. How can there be taint of actions in Me Who remain like the ether ? The comparison with ether is due to the absence of desire [in both]. As such etc. : whosoever, with this sort of thought, takes refuge in the Bhagavat i.e. contemplates everywhere at all times on the Bliss-dense Supreme Lord as 'There exits nothing othe than Vasudeva [the Absolute]' - for him can there be any bondage by actions ?
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
4.14 Actions do not taint Me, nor have I a desire for the fruit of actions. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions.
Commentary

4.14 न not? माम् Me? कर्माणि actions? लिम्पन्ति taint? न not? मे to Me? कर्मफले in the fruit of actions? स्पृहा desire? इति thus? माम् Me? यः who? अभिजानाति knows? कर्मभिः by actions? न not? सः he? बध्यते is bound.Commentary As I have neither egoism nor desire for fruits? I am not bound by actions. Wordly people think they are the agents and they perfrom actions. They also expect fruits for their actions. So they take birth again and again. If one works without attachment? without egoism? without expectation of fruits? he too will not be bound by actions. He will be freed from birth and death. (Cf.IX.9).

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
4.14 Actions do not taint Me; for Me there is no hankering for the results of actions. One who knows Me thus, does not become bound by actions.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
4.14 My actions do not fetter Me, nor do I desire anything that they can bring. He who thus realises Me is not enslaved by action.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 3.22 BG 9.9 BG 5.14 SB 1.7.10 SB 3.9.17 SB 10.33.30 CC Ādi 2.117 CC Madhya 20.153 CC Madhya 24.12 Īśa Upaniṣad 2 BRS 1.2.255
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Activity does not bind Me; I have no desire for fruits — one who understands this is also not bound by his activities.
Practical Applications
  • Imitate the inner stance of the Lord — full activity, no grasping.
  • Notice the difference in feel between desire-driven and desire-free action.
  • Use Kṛṣṇa's example as your reference, not your own habits.
Reflection Questions
  • Where can I act this week in deliberate imitation of His unattached engagement?
  • What freedom does this stance offer that grasping does not?
Analogy

A jeweler handling fire-tested gold all day is not burned, because he wears the right insulation and grasps the metal with the right tools. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme jeweler — He handles all action, but His non-grasping insulation is total. Whoever understands the insulation (no desire for fruit) handles the same fire untouched.

Stories
Janaka holding his kingdom

King Janaka administered Mithilā with full competence — armies, taxes, marriages, diplomacy — and yet the Upaniṣads record him sitting with sages like Yājñavalkya as a self-realized soul, indistinguishable in inner peace from the most renounced ascetic.

The Gītā in 3.20 holds him up as one who attained perfection through action. Here in 4.14 the principle behind Janaka's freedom is named: imitate the Lord's stance — full activity, no fruit-grasping — and the same actions that bind others will not bind you.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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