BG 4.14 — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 4.14Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा ।

इति मां यो ऽभिजानाति कर्मभिर् न स बध्यते ॥

na māṃ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā

iti māṃ yo 'bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Actions do not cling to Me, and I have no craving for their fruit. Whoever knows Me this way is not bound by what they do.

ekras · bhāṣya

Krishna names the principle that resolves the karta-akarta paradox. "Karmas do not stain me. I have no spriha for the karma-fruit. The one who knows me thus is not bound by his karmas." Two halves naming the same condition from two angles. Karmas do not stain — na mam karmani limpanti — because the inner sense of being a doer is wholly absent. Without the kartritva-abhimana, the actions perform their function and pass through without leaving residue. No spriha for the fruit — na me karma-phale spriha — because the inner reaching that converts an action into a binding event is also absent.

Madhva reads it precisely: Vishnu's actions are entirely his own ichchha-matra, sovereign will, without the abhinivesha that characterizes bound souls.

Krishna may desire outcomes for others — paritrana, vinasha, samsthapana — without the inner clinging that makes outcomes adhere to the actor. The closing line is the soteriological promise. Iti mam yah abhijanati karmabhih na sa badhyate. The one who knows me thus — knows that I act without the kartritva-abhimana and without the phala-spriha — is himself not bound by his own karmas. Why? Because the knowing is not a piece of information about Krishna; it is the recognition of the structure within which one's own karma can also operate. The man who has seen this structure in Krishna can act in his own life with the same inner condition. The avatara-doctrine, which began as a metaphysical curiosity in 4.4, has now become an operational instruction.

Context

where

Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 4.13

The fourfold order was created by Me, sorted by the qualities people carry and the work those qualities fit, yet know Me as the non-doer, unchanging and untouched by it all.

What's going on

Actions do not cling to Me, and I have no craving for their fruit. Whoever knows Me this way is not bound by what they do.

Sūtras through this verse (51)

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

4.9His acts are willed only to bless others.───→here4.14───→11.1By high compassion He showed the world-form.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.───→here4.14───→4.42Cut the heart's doubt with the sword of knowledge.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

2.18'Imperishable' is said to mark off the Lord.───→here4.14───→4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.

show all 51

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksstation · anchor

───→here4.14───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Acts without clingingstation · other · station 3/8

───→here4.14───→

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesbetween

4.6Avatāras differ in their fullness of Hari.───→here4.14───→6.9Devas, asuras, mortals are three native kinds.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

4.8Ṛgveda khilas explain the descent as play.───→here4.14───→6.6Maitrāyaṇī defines the stilled mind.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordbetween

4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.───→here4.14───→7.4Eight elements name the inert side of nature.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

4.11'Me' is glossed by what the speaker is doing.───→here4.14───→4.25'Divine' just means the Lord, named indirectly.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awaybetween

4.11However they come, I meet them so.───→here4.14───→7.16Four kinds of seekers, all good-hearted.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here4.14───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugebetween

4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.───→here4.14───→9.29Even to all — yet near to those who turn.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here4.14───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here4.14───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here4.14───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.───→here4.14───→4.18See not-doing in doing, doing in not-doing.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it werebetween

4.9My birth and acts are not of this world.───→here4.14───→7.14Divine illusion is hard to cross alone.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

3.25The wise act as the unwise, but unattached.───→here4.14───→4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

4.13The four orders are the Puruṣa's own body.───→here4.14───→15.1The world-tree is the tree of the Kaṭha.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.───→here4.14───→4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

4.13The four orders are His own creation.───→here4.14───→18.41Each order's work is born of its nature.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.───→here4.14───→4.23Action's flagship verse: it dissolves itself.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here4.14───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here4.14───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here4.14───→6.30See Me everywhere, I am never lost.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

3.20Janaka, lokasangraha───→here4.14───→4.18Action in inaction

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

2.22Worn-out garments───→here4.14───→4.16Even the wise are confused

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologybetween

4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I───→here4.14───→7.21'Yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah shraddhayarchitum ichchhati.' Whatever form the dev

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

4.8'Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam, dharma-samsthapana-arthaya sambh───→here4.14───→9.27Dharma-as-offering pillar. 'Yat karoshi yad ashnasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat.' Gau

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

3.30Surrender every act.───→here4.14───→4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.───→here4.14───→7.14Māyā is real wonder, not unreality.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.───→here4.14───→7.14Surrender alone crosses the māyā.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.───→here4.14───→9.4The Lord pervades all, yet stays untouched.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.───→here4.14───→5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

4.8A mother chastising her child is no cruelty.───→here4.14───→7.1The play-Person of every form opens chapter 7.

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here4.14───→6.10Solitary seat

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here4.14───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)approach

───→here4.14───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here4.14───→6.47Six chapters of aphorism close at this verse.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here4.14───→

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here4.14───→

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.───→here4.14───→6.1Karma-yoga is outer; samādhi-yoga inner.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.───→here4.14───→7.5Higher prakṛti is Śrī, not the eight-fold.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.───→here4.14───→7.21Other deities give what Viṣṇu permits.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionstation

───→here4.14───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

3.3Vaidika action sorted by life-stage rule.───→here4.14───→4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

3.4No mokṣa from mere non-starting.───→here4.14───→4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurebetween

4.13Four orders made by the one who stays equal.───→here4.14───→9.4He pervades, yet is not in any of it.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionbetween

4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.───→here4.14───→9.22Yoga-kṣemam: the Lord's work, not the seeker's caste.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

3.30Karma offered to the indweller becomes worship.───→here4.14───→4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here4.14───→4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.

Śabda · lemmas (11 unique · 17 occurrences)

कर्माणि·कर्म·कर्मभिः karman ×3 — action, deed, the law of action · nominative neuter plural noun / compound / instrumental neuter plural noun · also at 1.1, 2.48, 3.26, 3.27, 3.30, 4.27 +12
लिम्पन्ति √lip — to smear, anoint, taint, stain (verbal root) · present indicative 3rd person plural verb
स्पृहा spṛhā — longing, desire · nominative feminine singular noun · also at 3.39, 14.12
बध्यते √bandh — to bind (verbal root) · present indicative pass 3rd person singular verb

show all 11

न na ×3 — not (negation particle)
माम्·मे mad ×3 — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · accusative singular noun / genitive singular noun
फले phala — fruit, result · locative neuter singular noun
इति iti — thus (quotative particle)
यः yad — which, who (relative pronoun) · nominative masculine singular noun
अभिजानाति abhi-√jñā — to recognize, know (abhi- + √jñā 'know') · present indicative 3rd person singular verb
स tad — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · nominative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01If the Lord is untouched by actions He initiates, what precisely makes karma 'stick' — ego-claim, fruit-craving, or both simultaneously?
02Śaṅkara and Rāmānuja both use 'nimitta' (instrument/occasion) for the Lord's causal role: do they mean the same thing, or does Rāmānuja's insistence on kṣetrajña karma-śakti as the real differentiator change the argument entirely?

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03Madhva preserves the bheda (distinction) between Viṣṇu and jīva even after liberation; how does this change the practical meaning of 'knowing Me' — is the knower ever truly like the known?
04Vallabha says the knower becomes 'mad-dharmā' (bearer of My character) — is this a stronger ontological claim than Śaṅkara's 'knowing Me as ātman', and if so, which tradition holds the higher bar for liberation?
05All six commentators agree that the key is 'abhijānāti' (truly knowing): what makes this knowledge different from intellectual familiarity, and what does each school say is required for real abhijñāna?
06Śrīdhara's 'śaithilya' (loosening) suggests a gradual process; Madhusūdana's synthesis suggests a single liberating cognition. Is karma-freedom a threshold event or a continuum?
07The verse says the knower is not bound by karmas (plural) — does this mean all past karmas are dissolved, future karmas cannot accumulate, or both, and do the schools agree?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When finishing a significant project, pause before claiming authorship. Notice the gap between 'work happened' and 'I did this.' That noticing — however brief — is the practice of nirahaṃkāratva (ego-absence) the verse points to: Śaṅkara's condition for actions not adhering.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In a management role, remember that you set conditions but each person acts from their own prior patterns and capacities. Taking personal credit for team outcomes — or personal blame for their failures — mistakes the instrument for the cause. Act as nimitta-mātra: set the occasion, release the result.

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Dvaita

Hari acts with full intention and zero compulsion. Practice this in daily decisions: form a clear intention, act on it completely, then release attachment to outcome without pretending you had no preference. The Madhva frame distinguishes healthy volition (icchā) from compulsive clinging (abhiniviśa).

Śuddhādvaita

In Puṣṭi-mārga terms: when you encounter a person or moment that embodies freedom from agenda, let that recognition change you rather than analyze it. Vallabha's 'mad-dharmā bhavati' — the knower becomes what is known — applies to any encounter with graceful, effortless action; let it be instructive rather than merely admirable.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's 'śaithilya' (loosening) is a practical program: each time you recognize that the Lord acts without ego-claim and without craving, your own grip on outcomes loosens a little. Build the habit of noticing fruit-craving before acting — not to suppress it but to see it clearly — as the first stage of that loosening.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's synthesis suggests that devotion and self-knowledge reinforce each other. When Kṛṣṇa-bhakti is at its deepest, there is a moment of recognition that the beloved is also the witnessing ātman behind all action. Let devotional practice reach that point of coincidence: the heart's warmth and the mind's clarity arrive at the same object.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 4, Verse 14: Krishna to Arjuna — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga