Verse 11

Niralamba

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

कर्मेति च—क्रियमाणेन्द्रियैः कर्मण्यहं करोमीत्यध्यात्मनिष्ठतया कृतं कर्मैव कर्म। अकर्मेति च—कर्तृत्वभोक्तृत्वाद्यहङ्कारतया बन्धरूपं जन्मादिकारणं नित्यनैमित्तिकयागव्रततपोदानादिषु फलाभिसन्धानं यत्तदकर्म॥११-१२॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

कर्म इति च — क्रियमाणैः इन्द्रियैः कर्मणि अहं करोमि इति अध्यात्म-निष्ठतया कृतम् कर्म एव कर्म । अकर्म इति च — कर्तृत्व-भोक्तृत्व-आदि-अहङ्कारतया बन्ध-रूपम् जन्म-आदि-कारणम् नित्य-नैमित्तिक-याग-व्रत-तपः-दान-आदिषु फल-अभिसन्धानम् यत् तत् अकर्म ॥११-१२॥

IAST Transliteration

karmeti ca—kriyamāṇendriyaiḥ karmaṇy ahaṃ karomīty adhyātma-niṣṭhatayā kṛtaṃ karmaiva karma | akarmeti ca—kartṛtva-bhoktṛtvādy-ahaṅkāratayā bandha-rūpaṃ janmādi-kāraṇaṃ nitya-naimittika-yāga-vrata-tapo-dānādiṣu phalābhisandhānaṃ yat tad akarma ||11–12||

Translation

‘കർമ്മ’ എന്നതിനെക്കുറിച്ച്—ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങൾ പ്രവർത്തിക്കുമ്പോഴും ‘ഞാൻ ചെയ്യുന്നു’ എന്ന അധ്യാത്മനിഷ്ഠയോടെ ചെയ്യപ്പെടുന്നതുതന്നെ യഥാർത്ഥ കർമ്മം. ‘അകർമ്മ’ എന്നതിനെക്കുറിച്ച്—കർതൃത്വ-ഭോക്തൃത്വാദി അഹങ്കാരത്താൽ ബന്ധനരൂപമായി ജന്മാദികളുടെ കാരണമാകുന്നത്; നിത്യ-നൈമിത്തിക യാഗം, വ്രതം, തപസ്, ദാനം മുതലായവയിൽ ഫലാഭിസന്ധി വെക്കുന്നതു—അതേ അകർമ്മം എന്നു പറയുന്നു॥११-१२॥

Academic Translation

And as to ‘action’ (karma): action alone is (true) action when, while the senses are performing the act, it is done with inner steadfastness (adhyātma-niṣṭhā) as ‘I act’ in that action. And as to ‘non-action’ (akarma): that which, through the ego-sense of agency and enjoyership and the like, becomes bondage, the cause of birth and so on—namely, the aiming at results in obligatory and occasional rites, vows, austerities, gifts, and the like—that is (called) non-action.

Verse Context

• Karma vs akarma; doership (kartṛtva) and bondage; niṣkāma-karma oriented to adhyātma-niṣṭhā
• Mahavakya: Indirectly supports ‘ahaṃ brahmāsmi’ by undermining kartṛtva/bhoktṛtva (doer-enjoyer) and pointing to the Self as akartā (non-agent) in the ultimate sense.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Prose