Shloka 5

Devanagari script

मनुष्य न तो कर्मोंका आरम्भ किये बिना निष्कर्मताको यानी योगनिष्ठाको प्राप्त होता है और न कर्मोके केवल त्यागमात्रसे सिद्धि यानी सांख्यनिष्ठाको ही प्राप्त होता है ।। नहि कश्ित्‌ क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत्‌ । कार्यते हवश: कर्म सर्व: प्रकृतिजैर्गुणै:,नि:संदेह कोई भी मनुष्य किसी भी कालमें क्षणमात्र भी बिना कर्म किये नहीं रहता; क्योंकि सारा मनुष्यसमुदाय प्रकृतिजनित गुणोंद्वारा परवश हुआ कर्म करनेके लिये बाध्य किया जाता है

Transliteration

na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt | kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ ||

Translation

まことに、誰一人として、いかなる時も一瞬たりとも無為にとどまることはできない。すべての人は、プラクリティ（物質自然）より生じたグナ（性質）によって、否応なく行為へと駆り立てられるからである。

Word by Word

नहिindeed not / surely not

कश्चित्anyone

क्षणम्a moment

अपिeven

जातुever / at any time

तिष्ठतिstands / remains

अकर्मकृत्one who does no action

कार्यतेis made to do / is compelled to act

अवशःhelpless / under compulsion

कर्मaction

सर्वःall (everyone)

प्रकृतिजैःborn of nature

गुणैःby the qualities (gunas)

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

prakṛti

guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Inaction is impossible: even momentary ‘doing nothing’ does not occur, because the guṇas of prakṛti continually impel embodied beings toward activity. Therefore ethical life is not achieved by mere external withdrawal, but by governing and directing inevitable action in accordance with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Gītā’s opening instruction on karma-yoga, the teaching addresses the misconception that one can attain spiritual perfection simply by avoiding action. The verse explains why Arjuna (and all people) cannot escape action, setting up the need for disciplined, duty-aligned action rather than flight from responsibility.