Shloka 29
Mokṣa–Saṃnyāsa–Tyāga–Guṇa-Vibhāga (Renunciation, Relinquishment, and the Three Guṇas) — Mahābhārata 6, Bhīṣma-parva
सम्बन्ध-- इस प्रकार नित्य विज्ञानानन्न्दधन आत्मतत्त्वको सर्वत्र समभावसे देखनेका महत्त्व और फल बतलाकर अब जगले श्लोकमें उसे अकर्ता देखनेवालेकी महिमा कहते हैं प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वश: । यः पश्यति तथा55त्मानमकर्तारें स पश्यति,और जो पुरुष सम्पूर्ण कर्मोंको सब प्रकारसे प्रकृतिके द्वारा ही किये जाते हुए देखता है और आत्माको अकर्ता देखता है, वही यथार्थ देखता हैं
prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ | yaḥ paśyati tathātmānam akartāraṃ sa paśyati ||
All actions, in every way, are carried out by Nature (Prakṛti) alone. The one who sees this—and who also sees the Self (Ātman) as the non-doer (akartā)—truly sees. In the ethical setting of the battlefield, this teaching turns Arjuna from ego-claimed agency to clear discernment: act where duty (dharma) requires, but do not appropriate action as “I am the doer.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions belong to Prakṛti (the causal play of qualities and conditions), while the Ātman is to be understood as akartā (non-agent). True vision is to act without egoic ownership—performing duty while relinquishing the claim ‘I am the doer.’
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s battlefield instruction-context, Arjuna is being guided toward steadiness and right understanding. The verse frames a way to engage in necessary action without inner collapse: see the forces of nature performing deeds, and keep the Self free from doership and blame.