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Bhagavad-gītā 4.21

निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः । शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्‍नोति किल्बिषम् ॥ २१ ॥
nirāśīr yata-cittātmā
[niraasheer yata-chittaatmaa]
tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ
[tyakta-sarva-parigrahah]
śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma
[shaareeram kevalam karma]
kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
[kurvan naapnoti kilbisham]
Word-for-word
nirāśīḥ — without desire for the result yata — controlled citta - ātmā — mind and intelligence tyakta — giving up sarva — all parigrahaḥ — sense of proprietorship over possessions śārīram — in keeping body and soul together kevalam — only karma — work kurvan — doing na — never āpnoti — does acquire kilbiṣam — sinful reactions .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nirāśīr yata-cittātmā
nirāśīḥ
without desire for the result
yata
controlled
citta - ātmā
mind and intelligence
tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ
tyakta
giving up
sarva
all
parigrahaḥ
sense of proprietorship over possessions
śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma
śārīram
in keeping body and soul together
kevalam
only
karma
work
kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
kurvan
doing
na
never
āpnoti
does acquire
kilbiṣam
sinful reactions .
Important Words
  • nirāśīḥ — without desire / expectation
    Nis + āśīs — 'without benediction-wishing.' Not even the subtle desire for blessing. The renunciation is complete in the inner space, not merely in outer possessions.
  • yata — controlled
    Past passive participle of √yam — 'restrained.' The mind and self are *restrained*, not free-running. The state described is not laissez-faire detachment but disciplined regulation.
  • citta - ātmā — mind and intelligence / consciousness
    Compound. The control reaches both citta (mind-substance, the flow of thoughts) and ātmā (here used for the deeper self-sense). Both must be reined.
  • tyakta — having given up
    Past passive participle of √tyaj. The tyaktvā of 2.47 reappears here. The act of giving up is presented as already accomplished — the verse names the post-renunciation steady state.
  • parigrahaḥ — sense of proprietorship
    Pari + √grah — 'grasping around, encompassing-grasp.' Not just having things but the *encircling-claim* that things are mine. The Sanskrit captures the subtle swelling of mine-ness around possessions.
  • śārīram — bodily
    Adjective from śarīra. The only action permitted: that which maintains the body. Eating, sleeping, breathing — but not the swelling of identity around accumulation. A precise minimum.
  • kilbiṣam — sinful reactions
    From √kilb — 'fault, blemish.' The promise is total: such a one incurs no kilbiṣa. The bare bodily action without parigraha is karmically unblemishing.
Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions.
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)
Three internal conditions — no expectation, restrained mind-self, no proprietorship — combined with action limited to bare bodily necessity, leave no karmic residue. Even basic survival-acts become non-binding under right conditions.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
The verse profiles the jīvanmukta in action. शारीरम् केवलम् कर्म narrows the scope: only what the body requires, nothing taken for psychic accumulation. Compare with sannyāsī ethics (alms only, single garment). The conclusion न आप्नोति किल्बिषम् gives the practical assurance.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
निराशीः यत-चित्त-आत्मा त्यक्त-सर्व-परिग्रहः केवलम् शारीरम् कर्म कुर्वन् किल्बिषम् न आप्नोति।
nirāśīḥ yata-citta-ātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ kevalam śārīram karma kurvan kilbiṣam na āpnoti|
Free of expectation, mind and self restrained, having relinquished all possession, doing only bodily action, he incurs no sin.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
निराशीः यत-चित्त-आत्मा त्यक्त-सर्व-परिग्रहः । शारीरम् केवलम् कर्म कुर्वन् न आप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥
nirāśīḥ yata-citta-ātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ | śārīram kevalam karma kurvan na āpnoti kilbiṣam ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
निराशीः nirāśīḥ निर्+आशिस् (f.) → adj. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) without expectation
यत-चित्त-आत्मा yata-citta-ātmā यत (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) + चित्त + आत्मन् nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) with mind and self restrained
त्यक्त-सर्व-परिग्रहः tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ त्यक्त (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) + सर्व + परिग्रह (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) having given up all possession
शारीरम् śārīram शारीर (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. bodily
केवलम् kevalam केवल (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. only
कर्म karma कर्मन् (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) action
कुर्वन् kurvan √कृ pres. (present) active part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. doing
न na ind. (indeclinable), negation not
आप्नोति āpnoti √आप् pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) incurs
किल्बिषम् kilbiṣam किल्बिष (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) sin / blame
Purport

A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not expect good or bad results in his activities. His mind and intelligence are fully controlled. He knows that because he is part and parcel of the Supreme, the part played by him, as a part and parcel of the whole, is not his own activity but is only being done through him by the Supreme. When the hand moves, it does not move out of its own accord, but by the endeavor of the whole body. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always dovetailed with the supreme desire, for he has no desire for personal sense gratification. He moves exactly like a part of a machine. As a machine part requires oiling and cleaning for maintenance, so a Kṛṣṇa conscious man maintains himself by his work just to remain fit for action in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. He is therefore immune to all the reactions of his endeavors. Like an animal, he has no proprietorship even over his own body. A cruel proprietor of an animal sometimes kills the animal in his possession, yet the animal does not protest. Nor does it have any real independence. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person, fully engaged in self-realization, has very little time to falsely possess any material object. For maintaining body and soul, he does not require unfair means of accumulating money. He does not, therefore, become contaminated by such material sins. He is free from all reactions to his actions.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
21. Having given up all sense of taking from others, being without desire and controlled in mind and body, performing acts only to support his body, he does not incur sin.
Commentary

He is controlled in mind (cit) and gross body (ātmā). For the purpose of maintaining his body he may accept things even from sinful persons, but does not incur sin. This is an extended explanation of the statement “one must understand the truth concerning vikarma.”

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
21. Having given up all sense of taking from others, being without desire, and controlled in mind and body, performing acts only to support his body, he does not incur sin.
Commentary

Three verses now speak of the state of āruḍha or one who has attained the goal, steadiness in jñāna. He from whom desire for results has departed (nirāśīḥ), whose mind and body are controlled (yata cittātmā), who is devoid of possessiveness of material objects, because his purpose is only to see ātmā, though engaging in action to gain material objects to support his body (śāṛiram kevalam karma), does not incur sin (kilbiṣam).

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
4.21 Nirasih, one who is without solicitation-one from whom asisah [Asih is a kind of desire that can be classed under prayer. (Some translate it as desire, hope.-Tr.)], solicitations, have departed; yata-citta-atma, who has the mind and organs under control-one by whom have been controlled (yatau) both the internal organ (citta) and the external aggregate of body and organs (atma); (and) is tyakta-sarva-parigrahah, [ Parigraha: receiving, accepting, possessions, belongings.-V.S.A] totally without possessions- one by whom have been renounced (tyaktah) all (sarvah) possessions (parigrahah); na apnoti, he does not incur; kilbisam, sin, in the form of evil as also rigtheousness-to one aspiring for Liberation, even righteousness is surely an evil because it brings bondage-; [Here Ast. adds tasmat tabhyam mukto bhavati samsarat mukto bhavati ityarthah, therefore, he becomes free from both of them, i.e. he becomes liberated from transmigration.-Tr.] kurvan, by performing; karma, actions; kevalam, merely; sariram, for the purpose of maintaining the body-without the idea of agenship even with regard to these (actions). Further, in the expression, 'kevalam sariram karma', do the words sariram karma mean 'actions done by the body' or 'actions merely for the purpose of maintaining the body? Again, what does it matter if by (the words) sariram karma is meant 'actions done by the body' or 'actions merely for the purpose of maintaning the body? The answer is: If by sariram karma is meant actions done by the body, then it will amount to a contradiction [Contradiction of the scriptures.] when the Lord says, 'one does not incur sin by doing with his body any action meant for seen or unseen purposes, even though it be prohibited.' Even if the Lord were to say that 'one does not incur sin by doing with his body some scripturally sanctioned action intended to secure a seen or an unseen end', then there arises the contingency of His denying something (some evil) that has not come into being! (Further,) from the specification, sariram karma kurvan (by doing actions with the body), and from the use of the word kevala (only), it will amount to saying that one incurs sin by performing actions, called righteous and unrighteous, which can be accomplished with the mind and speech and which come within the purview of injunction and prohibition. Even there, the statement that one incurs sin by performing enjoined actions through the mind and speech will involve a contradiction; even in the case of doing what is prohibited, it will amount to a mere purposeless restatement of a known fact. On the other hand, when the sense conveyed by sariram karma is taken as acctions merely for the purpose of maintaining the body, then the implication will be that he does not do any other work as can be accomplished physically, orally, or mentally, which are known from injunctions and prohibitions (of the scriptures) and which have in view seen or unseen results; while he appears to people to be working with those very body (speech) etc. merely for the purpose of maintaining the body, yet he does not incur sin by merely making movements of the body etc., because from the use of the word kevala, (merely) it follows that he is devoid of the sense of agentship implicit in the idea, 'I do.' Since there is no possibility of a person who has reached such a state incurring evil as suggest by the word sin, therefore he does not become subject to the evil of transmigration. That is to say, he certainly becomes free without any obstacle since he has all his actions burnt away by the fire of wisdom. This verse is only a reiteration of the result of full illumination stated earlier. It becomes faultless by accepting the interpretation of sariram karma thus. In the case of the monk who has renounced all possessions, since owning food etc. meant for the bare sustenance of the body is absent, therefore it becomes imperative to beg for alms etc. for the upkeep of the body. Under this circumstance, by way of pointing out the means of obtaining food etc. for the maintenance of the body of a monk as permitted by the text, 'What comes unasked for, without forethought and spontaneously৷৷.' [Unasked for: what comes before the monk gets ready for going out for alms; without forethought: alms that are not given with abuses, and have not fallen on the ground, but collected from five or seven houses without any plan; spontaneously: alms brought to one spontaneously by devoted people.] (Bo. Sm. 21. 8. 12) etc., the Lord says:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
4.21 'Free from desire' means having no attachment to the fruits of actions. 'His intellect and mind controlled' means one whose intellect and mind are under control. 'Giving up all possessions' means one who, on account of his having the self as his primary objective, is devoid of the sense of ownership in relation to Prakrti and its derivatives. One who is thus engaged in bodily work alone as long as he lives, does not incur any sin, i.e., does not get engrossed in Samsara. He gets the vision of the self by Karma Yoga of this kind itself, and need not resort to any exlusive practice of Jnana Yoga in between liberation and the practice of Karma Yoga of the alone description.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
4.21 Tyaktva etc. Nirasih etc. Even though he sets upon : Even though he is directly exerting in. Bodily action : the action which is in the form of activity of the organs for simply maintaining the body, and which is not coloured (desired) so much by the mind and intellect.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
4.21 Without hope and with the mind and the self controlled, having abandoned all covetousness, doing mere bodily action, he incurs no sin.
Commentary

4.21 निराशीः without hope? यतचित्तात्मा one with the mind and self controlled? त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः having abandoned all covetousness? शारीरम् bodily? केवलम् merely? कर्म action? कुर्वन् doing? न not? आप्नोति obtains? किल्बिषम् sin.Commentary The liberated sage renounces all actions except what is necessary for the bare maintenance of the body. He has abandoned all possessions. He incurs no sin which will cause evil effects. For a man who thirsts for liberation (Mumukshu) even righteous activity (Dharma) is a sin as it causes bondage to Samsara. Dharma is a golden fetter for him. A golden fetter is also a fetter. A sage is liberated from both Dharma and Adharma? good and evil or virtue and vice. (Cf.III.7)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
4.21 One who is without solicitation, who has the mind and organs under control, (and) is totally without possessions, he incurs no sin by performing actions merely for the (maintenance of the) body.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
4.21 Expecting nothing, his mind and personality controlled, without greed, doing bodily actions only; though he acts, yet he remains untainted.
Related values & verses
Primary values
Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)
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)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 6.10 BG 12.16 BG 18.49 SB 11.17.42 SB 7.13.30 SB 11.13.31 CC Antya 6.223 CC Madhya 22.129 CC Madhya 19.129 Īśa Upaniṣad 1 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.13
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Without expectations, controlled in mind and self, abandoning all sense of proprietorship — performing only bodily action — he incurs no sin.
Practical Applications
  • Drop proprietorship over your tools, your time, your influence.
  • Maintain only bodily action — feed and shelter the body — without ego inflation.
  • Refuse the 'mine' that swells around even small possessions.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is my sense of 'mine' silently inflating?
  • What would 'only bodily action' look like in my work?
Analogy

A renunciate carries a single bowl and one cloth — only what the body needs to keep functioning. Everything else is loaned, not owned. The verse calls this the man who has dropped parigraha — the silent 'mine' that swells around even the smallest possession. Without it, the same daily actions carry no sin.

Stories
Raghunātha dāsa at Govardhana

Born into one of Bengal's wealthiest families, Raghunātha dāsa abandoned the estate at Caitanya's word and lived at Rādhā-kuṇḍa under Govardhana for the rest of his life. He ate only chipped rice rejected by others; later he reduced this to a few drops of buttermilk; near the end, only the rinse of a clay pot.

Gauḍīya hagiography records that he gave up not just wealth but the very sense of needing wealth. Śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma — only the bare bodily action. The verse's specification is his daily form.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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