FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 5.8-9

नैव किञ्चित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित् । पश्यञ्श‍ृण्वन्स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन्नश्न‍न्गच्छन्स्वपन्श्वसन् ॥ ८ ॥ प्रलपन्विसृजन्गृह्णन्नुन्मिषन्निमिषन्नपि । इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेषु वर्तन्त इति धारयन् ॥ ९ ॥
naiva kiñcit karomīti
[naiva kinchit karomeeti]
yukto manyeta tattva-vit
[yukto manyeta tattva-vit]
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann
[pashyan shrinvan sprishan jighrann]
aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
[ashnan gachchan svapan shvasan]
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann
[pralapan visrijan grihnann]
unmiṣan nimiṣann api
[unmishan nimishann api]
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu
[indriyaaneendriyaartheshu]
vartanta iti dhārayan
[vartanta iti dhaarayan]
Word-for-word
na — never eva — certainly kiñcit — anything karomi — I do iti — thus yuktaḥ — engaged in the divine consciousness manyeta — thinks tattva - vit — one who knows the truth paśyan — seeing śṛṇvan — hearing spṛśan — touching jighran — smelling aśnan — eating gacchan — going svapan — dreaming śvasan — breathing pralapan — talking visṛjan — giving up gṛhṇan — accepting unmiṣan — opening nimiṣan — closing api — in spite of indriyāṇi — the senses indriya - artheṣu — in sense gratification vartante — let them be so engaged iti — thus dhārayan — considering .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
naiva kiñcit karomīti
na
never
eva
certainly
kiñcit
anything
karomi
I do
iti
thus
yukto manyeta tattva-vit
yuktaḥ
engaged in the divine consciousness
manyeta
thinks
tattva - vit
one who knows the truth
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann
paśyan
seeing
śṛṇvan
hearing
spṛśan
touching
jighran
smelling
aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
aśnan
eating
gacchan
going
svapan
dreaming
śvasan
breathing
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann
pralapan
talking
visṛjan
giving up
gṛhṇan
accepting
unmiṣan nimiṣann api
unmiṣan
opening
nimiṣan
closing
api
in spite of
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu
indriyāṇi
the senses
indriya - artheṣu
in sense gratification
vartanta iti dhārayan
vartante
let them be so engaged
iti
thus
dhārayan
considering .
Important Words
  • na eva kiñcit karomi — I do nothing at all
    The triple negation — na, eva, kiñcit — is forensic. 'Not even, certainly, anything.' Kṛṣṇa is closing every escape route by which the false sense of doership might slip back in. The yogī's interior testimony is absolute.
  • tattva-vit — one who knows the truth
    Tattva — 'thatness, the actual fact.' Vit — knower. Not the believer in a doctrine, but one who has personally verified the soul-body distinction. The 'I do nothing' is testimony, not theory.
  • indriyāṇi indriya-artheṣu vartante — the senses are merely engaged with their objects
    The whole formula of the verse. Senses (indriya) and sense-objects (indriya-artha) carry on their natural commerce; the soul is neither. This phrase echoes 3.28 and becomes the Gītā's standard meditation on non-doership.
  • dhārayan — considering
    Present participle of √dhṛ — 'holding, maintaining.' The yogī actively holds this seeing while acting. It is not a one-time realization but a continuously held cognition. The practice is the holding.
  • yuktaḥ — engaged in the divine consciousness
    The familiar yukta — yoked. Here it specifies the state from which the 'I do nothing' is genuine testimony. Outside that yoke, the same claim becomes either delusion or fatalism.
A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.
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 knower of truth (tattva-vit), though engaged in every bodily and sensory act, holds firmly: 'I do nothing at all — only the senses are moving among their objects.' This is naiṣkarmya within karma: the witness-self stands apart from doership.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
An exhaustive catalog of 14 ordinary actions — from seeing to blinking — to make the point inescapable: the self never acts; only the prakṛti-instruments do. The verse anchors Sāṅkhya's puruṣa/prakṛti distinction in lived experience. Echoes 3.27–28 (guṇāḥ guṇeṣu vartante) and prepares 5.14 (na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi).
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
तत्त्व-वित् युक्तः पश्यन् शृण्वन् स्पृशन् जिघ्रन् अश्नन् गच्छन् स्वपन् श्वसन् प्रलपन् विसृजन् गृह्णन् उन्मिषन् निमिषन् अपि इन्द्रियाणि इन्द्रिय-अर्थेषु वर्तन्ते इति धारयन् किञ्चित् न एव करोमि इति मन्येत ।
tattva-vit yuktaḥ paśyan śṛṇvan spṛśan jighran aśnan gacchan svapan śvasan pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇan unmiṣan nimiṣan api indriyāṇi indriya-artheṣu vartante iti dhārayan kiñcit na eva karomi iti manyeta |
The yoked knower of truth, while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing, speaking, releasing, grasping, opening and closing the eyes, should bear in mind 'the senses are merely engaging with their sense-objects,' and should think: 'I am doing nothing at all.'
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
न एव किञ्चित् करोमि इति युक्तः मन्येत तत्त्व-वित् । पश्यन् शृण्वन् स्पृशन् जिघ्रन् अश्नन् गच्छन् स्वपन् श्वसन् ॥ प्रलपन् विसृजन् गृह्णन् उन्मिषन् निमिषन् अपि । इन्द्रियाणि इन्द्रिय-अर्थेषु वर्तन्ते इति धारयन् ॥
na eva kiñcit karomi iti yuktaḥ manyeta tattva-vit | paśyan śṛṇvan spṛśan jighran aśnan gacchan svapan śvasan || pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇan unmiṣan nimiṣan api | indriyāṇi indriya-artheṣu vartante iti dhārayan ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
न एव na eva ind. (न + एव) not at all
किञ्चित् kiñcit indef. pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. anything
करोमि karomi √कृ pres. (present) 1sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) I do
इति iti ind. (quotative) thus
युक्तः yuktaḥ युक्त p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. the yoked one
मन्येत manyeta √मन् opt. (optative) 3sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) should think
तत्त्व-वित् tattva-vit तत्त्व (n.) + विद् (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) knower of truth
पश्यन् paśyan √दृश् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. seeing
शृण्वन् śṛṇvan √श्रु pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. hearing
स्पृशन् spṛśan √स्पृश् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. touching
जिघ्रन् jighran √घ्रा pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. smelling
अश्नन् aśnan √अश् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. eating
गच्छन् gacchan √गम् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. going
स्वपन् svapan √स्वप् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. sleeping
श्वसन् śvasan √श्वस् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. breathing
प्रलपन् pralapan प्र + √लप् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. speaking, prattling
विसृजन् visṛjan वि + √सृज् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. releasing, letting go
गृह्णन् gṛhṇan √ग्रह् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. grasping
उन्मिषन् unmiṣan उद् + √मिष् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. opening eyes
निमिषन् nimiṣan नि + √मिष् pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. closing eyes
अपि api ind. (indeclinable) even
इन्द्रियाणि indriyāṇi इन्द्रिय (n.) nom.pl. (nominative plural) the senses
इन्द्रिय-अर्थेषु indriya-artheṣu इन्द्रिय + अर्थ (m.) loc.pl. (locative plural), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) among sense-objects
वर्तन्ते vartante √वृत् pres. (present) 3pl.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) they operate, engage
धारयन् dhārayan √धृ caus. (causative) pres. (present) act. part. nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. holding (in mind), bearing
Purport

A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is pure in his existence, and consequently he has nothing to do with any work which depends upon five immediate and remote causes: the doer, the work, the situation, the endeavor and fortune. This is because he is engaged in the loving transcendental service of Kṛṣṇa. Although he appears to be acting with his body and senses, he is always conscious of his actual position, which is spiritual engagement. In material consciousness, the senses are engaged in sense gratification, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness the senses are engaged in the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa’s senses. Therefore, the Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always free, even though he appears to be engaged in affairs of the senses. Activities such as seeing and hearing are actions of the senses meant for receiving knowledge, whereas moving, speaking, evacuating, etc., are actions of the senses meant for work. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is never affected by the actions of the senses. He cannot perform any act except in the service of the Lord because he knows that he is the eternal servitor of the Lord.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

This is what is like being involved in niskama karma‑yoga. And why is he able to do this? He thinks he does nothing at all because he has transcendental knowledge so he is actually understanding and seeing this. It is knowledge which makes the difference here. And what type of knowledge is being described here? Knowledge that we are not this body. This is knowledge that allows one to exist within this material body, but practically has nothing to do with this material body. And, therefore, because he sees that his body is acting but he has nothing to do with it, he is not interested in the fruits of his work ‑ because he is not the body. That realization allows him to be detached from the work. Therefore,

[ 2 . One who does his duty without attachment, steadily acting with body, mind, intelligence, and senses just for the satisfaction of Krsna, attains peace while one greedy for the fruits of his labors become entangled. (10‑12) ]

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
5.8 Yuktah, remaining absorbed in the Self; tattva-vit, the knower of Reality-knower of the real nature of Truth, of the Self, i.e., the seer of the supreme Reality; manyeta, should think; 'na karomi eva, I certainly do not do; kincit, anything.' Having realized the Truth, when or how should he think? This is being answered; Api, even; pasyan, while seeing; srnvan, hearing; sprsan, touching; jighran, smelling; asnan, eating; gacchan, moving; svapan, sleeping; svasan, breathing; pralapan, speaking; visrjan, releasing; grhnan, holding; unmisan, opening; nimisan, closing the eyes. All these are to be connected with the above manyeta (should think). For the man who has known the Truth thus, who finds nothing but inaction in action-in all the movements of the body and organs-, and who has full realization, there is competence only for giving up all actions because of his realization of the nonexistence of actions. Indeed, one who proceeds to drink water in a mirage thinking that water is there, surely does not go there itself for drinking water even after knowing that no water exists there!
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
5.8 - 5.9 Thus he who knows the truth concerning the self should reflect in mind that the ear and the other organs of sensation (Jnanendriyas) as also organs of action (Karmendriyas) and the vital currents (the Pranas) are occupied with their own respective objects. Thus he should know, 'I do not do anything at all.' He should reflect, 'My intrinsic nature is one of knowledge. The sense of agency comes because of the association of the self with the senses and the Pranas which are rooted in Karma. It does not spring from my essential nature.'
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
5.8 See Comment under 5.11
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
5.8 "I do nothing at all," thus would the harmonised knower of Truth think seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing.
Commentary

5.8 न not? एव even? किञ्चित् anything? करोमि I do? इति thus? युक्तः centred (in the Self)? मन्येत should think? तत्त्ववित् the knower of Truth? पश्यन् seeing? श्रृण्वन् hearing? स्पृशन् touching? जिघ्रन् smelling? अश्नन् eating? गच्छन् going? स्वपन् sleeping? श्वसन् breathing.No Commentary.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
5.8-5.9 Remaining absorbed in the Self, the knower of Reality should think, 'I certainly do not do anything', even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking, releasing, holding, opening and closing the eyes-remembering that the organs function in relation to the objects of the organs.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
5.8 Though the saint sees, hears, touches, smells, eats, moves, sleeps and breathes, yet he knows the Truth, and he knows that it is not he who acts.
Related values & verses
Related values
Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)
Related verses
BG 3.27 BG 3.28 BG 13.30 SB 11.22.49 SB 3.27.1 SB 11.13.27 CC Madhya 20.108 CC Madhya 22.26 CC Madhya 19.159 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.1Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking — the wise know they are doing nothing; senses meet sense-objects, that is all.
Practical Applications
  • Notice the simple mechanics: senses meeting objects, the soul a witness.
  • Use this seeing during ordinary activity to dissolve the false 'I am the doer.'
  • Make this meditation portable through your day.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I claiming authorship of activity that is simply senses meeting objects?
  • What does 'doing nothing' feel like inside doing?
Analogy

A window does not see; the eye that looks through it sees, and even the eye is only the instrument of the soul behind it. The wise know that the senses meeting their objects is just window-business — opening, closing, receiving light. The witness in the room is doing nothing at all.

Stories
Ṛṣabhadeva walking through the world

The Bhāgavatam records that the avatāra Ṛṣabhadeva, after instructing His sons, wandered the earth in a state of perfect detachment. He passed through forests and cities, ate what came, slept wherever night found Him. People threw refuse on Him, mocked Him, sometimes worshipped Him.

Throughout, He maintained the consciousness of na eva kiñcit karomi — 'I do nothing at all.' The seeing happened, the walking happened, the eating happened — and the Self stood untouched as witness. His body moved through the senses' transactions while He remained the silent witness behind them.

The verse is Ṛṣabhadeva's stance compressed into a śloka.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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