BG 4.21 — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 4.21Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · Tāta · anuṣṭubh

निराशीर् यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः ।

शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन् नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥

nirāśīr yata-cittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ

śārīraṃ kevalaṃ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam

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

meaning

Free from desire, with mind and body held in check, having released all possessiveness, doing only what the body requires, you incur no stain.

ekras · bhāṣya

Three dispositions and one form of action. Nirashir — the inner reaching toward outcomes is gone. Yata-chittatma — the inner instrument and the body-mind aggregate are both held under restraint. Tyakta-sarva-parigraha — every form of holding-on, of accumulation, has been released. Together they describe a practitioner whose external life has been pared down to what survival actually requires. The action that remains is shariram kevalam karma — only what the body needs to perform: eating, sleeping, washing, the occasional necessary act. Nothing accumulated; nothing chased; nothing held against the future.

Madhusudana invokes the kaimutya-nyaya — the a-fortiori argument: if even the most fruit-laden ritual like the jyotishtoma loses its binding force for the brahma-knower, then the mendicant's small acts of bodily maintenance certainly cannot bind.

Vallabha names this as the lower-grade adhikari — the practitioner whose path runs through outer minimalism, the early-stage karma-yogin. The verse lands a precise instruction. The man with no parigraha and no asha, performing only the actions a body requires, accumulates no kilbisha — no stain. The path through the world has been narrowed to a thread. The thread runs through; the kilbisha-machinery does not catch.

Context

where

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

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna · vocative Tāta

preceded by — BG 4.20

Freed from clinging to results, content in himself, needing nothing, he moves fully through action yet does nothing at all.

What's going on

Free from desire, with mind and body held in check, having released all possessiveness, doing only what the body requires, you incur no stain.

Sūtras through this verse (51)

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

4.9His acts are willed only to bless others.───→here4.21───→11.1By high compassion He showed the world-form.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.

show all 51

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

4.14Acts without clinging───→here4.21───→5.14Two tiers of rulership

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesbetween

4.6Avatāras differ in their fullness of Hari.───→here4.21───→6.9Devas, asuras, mortals are three native kinds.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

4.14He acts but does not cling to the act.───→here4.21───→5.14The Lord rules the modes; the soul rules the body.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

4.8Ṛgveda khilas explain the descent as play.───→here4.21───→6.6Maitrāyaṇī defines the stilled mind.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordbetween

4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→7.16Four kinds of seekers, all good-hearted.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here4.21───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugebetween

4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.───→here4.21───→9.29Even to all — yet near to those who turn.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here4.21───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here4.21───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here4.21───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

4.18See not-doing in doing, doing in not-doing.───→here4.21───→5.13Body-self confusion is the only error.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it werebetween

4.9My birth and acts are not of this world.───→here4.21───→7.14Divine illusion is hard to cross alone.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.───→here4.21───→5.8I do nothing at all, says the knower.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

4.13The four orders are the Puruṣa's own body.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

4.13The four orders are His own creation.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→4.23Action's flagship verse: it dissolves itself.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here4.21───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here4.21───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here4.21───→6.30See Me everywhere, I am never lost.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

4.18Action in inaction───→here4.21───→5.6Renunciation needs the path

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

4.16Even the wise are confused───→here4.21───→7.14Cross the maya

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologybetween

4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I───→here4.21───→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───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.───→here4.21───→7.14Māyā is real wonder, not unreality.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.───→here4.21───→7.14Surrender alone crosses the māyā.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.───→here4.21───→9.4The Lord pervades all, yet stays untouched.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→7.1The play-Person of every form opens chapter 7.

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here4.21───→6.10Solitary seat

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here4.21───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

RāmānujaclassicalC

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

───→here4.21───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here4.21───→6.47Six chapters of aphorism close at this verse.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here4.21───→

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here4.21───→

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.───→here4.21───→6.1Karma-yoga is outer; samādhi-yoga inner.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→7.21Other deities give what Viṣṇu permits.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.───→here4.21───→5.1Body-residue karma vs. fruit-bearing karma.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.───→here4.21───→5.13All actions renounced by mind alone.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionbetween

4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.───→here4.21───→7.24Failure of seeing, not absence of presence.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurebetween

4.13Four orders made by the one who stays equal.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→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.───→here4.21───→4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here4.21───→4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.

Śabda · lemmas (25 unique · 26 occurrences)

कर्म karman — action, deed, the law of action · compound

show all 25

आत्मनि·आत्म ātman ×2 — the Self, soul; one's own self · locative masculine singular noun / compound
यः yad — which, who (relative pronoun) · nominative masculine singular noun
पुनर् punar — again, once more
पूर्व pūrva — former, prior, eastern · compound
उक्त √vac — to speak (verbal root) · compound participle (compound member)
विपरीतः viparīta — reversed, perverted, contrary (vi- + parīta) · nominative masculine singular noun
प्राक् prāk — before, eastward, formerly
एव eva — indeed, truly, only (emphatic particle)
अम्भात् ambha — water · ablative neuter singular noun
ब्रह्मणि brahman — Brahman (the Absolute); also: the Veda; sacred utterance · locative neuter singular noun · also at 5.19, 5.20
सर्व sarva — all, entire · compound
अन्तरे antara — interior, inner; interval, between · locative neuter singular noun
प्रत्यक् pratyañc — westward, turned back; inward · compound
निष्क्रिये niṣkriya — without action, inactive (nis- + kriyā) · locative masculine singular noun
संजात saṃ-√jan — to arise together, be born of (sam- + √jan) · compound participle (compound member)
दर्शनः darśana — seeing, vision; one of the six philosophical schools · nominative masculine singular noun
स tad — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · nominative masculine singular noun
दृष्ट √dṛś — to see (verbal root) · compound participle (compound member)
अदृष्ट adṛṣṭa — unseen (a- + dṛṣṭa past-pple. 'seen', from √dṛś); the unmanifest karmic residue · compound
इष्ट √iṣ — to wish, desire (verbal root) · compound participle (compound member)
विषय viṣaya — object of sense; sense-domain; sphere · compound
आशीः āśī — blessing, wish; fang · nominative masculine singular noun
विवर्जित vi-√varjay — to abandon, give up (caus. of vi- + √vṛj) · compound participle (compound member)
तया tā — (feminine suffix; or stem-form of various words — context-dependent) · instrumental feminine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01If even dharma (meritorious action) is called kilbiṣa for the mumukṣu, does the Gītā's ethics collapse into pure antinomianism — or is there a principled distinction between acting-for-liberation and acting-from-liberation?
02Śaṅkara's dialectic on 'śārīram karma' turns on what counts as the minimal action required for bodily continuance. How do we draw that boundary in a world of global supply chains, digital labor, and invisible systems of accumulation?

show all 7

03Rāmānuja reads this verse as describing lifelong karma-yoga, not a post-jñāna residual state. Does that make the liberation on offer more or less accessible to a householder who cannot renounce all possessions?
04Madhva glosses parigraha-tyāga as anabhimāna (non-conceit) rather than literal non-possession. Can the Dvaita reading justify a devotee who owns property but holds it entirely in Hari's name, without any proprietary self-sense?
05Vallabha's adhyāsa framing says the superimposition of doer-ship is the only thing that falls away, not the body's activity inside Kṛṣṇa's līlā. What does this mean for the practitioner who makes a visible mistake — is the mistake also part of the divine play?
06Madhusūdana's kaimutya-nyāya (argument a fortiori) implies that cognitive and verbal acts performed by the knower are equally non-binding. Does this extend to speech that harms others — or does the non-binding character apply only to the karmic ledger, not to ethical consequences for the world?
07All six schools agree that agency-conceit (kartṛtva-abhimāna) is the binding mechanism, not action itself. If modern psychology locates the 'self' as narrative construction rather than metaphysical entity, does that convergence strengthen or weaken the Gītā's claim?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Perform the single action the moment demands — answer the email, cook the meal, write the line of code — then let the hand return to stillness. Do not begin the secondary action of reviewing what you just did for its sign-value. The only permitted accumulation is the accumulation of bare attention; every other kind is parigraha.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Before each task, state inwardly: 'This belongs to Bhagavān.' Afterward, release the outcome completely — not as a technique for equanimity but because the outcome was never yours to begin with. The lifelong practice is not occasional detachment but a sustained re-orientation of every action as kainkarya, turning the ordinary day into unbroken service.

show all 6

Dvaita

Notice, concretely, the moment the thought 'I achieved this' or 'I will gain from this' arises. That is the anabhimāna (non-conceit) point. Replace it not with an abstract philosophical position but with a direct acknowledgment: 'Hari acted through this instrument.' Dvaita prescribes this as a daily discipline, not a permanent attainment.

Śuddhādvaita

In Puṣṭi-mārga practice: while cooking, cleaning, or working, hold the sense that these hands are Kṛṣṇa's own instruments moving in His own household. Do not manufacture detachment from the activity. The activity itself is His prasāda — what you release is only the proprietary claim, not the joy of the doing.

Bhakti

The yoga-ārūḍha application Śrīdhara points to: when you are fully established in practice, you are not accumulating new karmic debt even through actions that would ordinarily carry obligatory-rite implications. The practical instruction is to fulfill bodily necessities honestly and simply, without either anxiety about omitted duties or ambition for future states.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's kaimutya principle applied: if the big-ticket actions (ambitious projects, public roles, visible production) can be rendered agent-less by the knower, then certainly the small-ticket actions of daily life — conversation, hygiene, rest — carry no binding weight at all. Begin with the small. Let the verbal and mental actions of an ordinary hour be conducted without any self-promotional inner narration; the jyotiṣṭoma can wait.

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 21: Krishna to Arjuna — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga