Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 17
यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः।
आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते।।
आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते।।
yas tvātma-ratir eva syād ātma-tṛptaś ca mānavaḥ
ātmanyeva ca santuṣṭas tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate
also searched as "yas tvatma-ratir eva syad atma-triptash cha manavah"
Translation
But the man whose delight is only in the Self, who is satisfied with the Self, who rejoices in the Self, for him nothing remains to be accomplished.
Vāṇi's rendering
But the one who delights in the self alone, content there, full there — for them, nothing remains to do.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यःyaḥ | the one who (appears as yas before the next word) |
| तुtu | but — marking the exception to what was just said |
| आत्म-रतिःātma-ratiḥ | one whose delight is in the self |
| एवeva | alone, and nowhere else |
| स्यात्syāt | may be, should happen to be |
| आत्म-तृप्तःātma-tṛptaḥ | satisfied by the self |
| चca | and |
| मानवःmānavaḥ | a human being, any person |
| आत्मनिātmani | in the self |
| एवeva | only, precisely there (joined as ātmanyeva) |
| चca | and |
| सन्तुष्टःsantuṣṭaḥ | fully content, filled to the brim |
| तस्यtasya | for that person |
| कार्यम्kāryam | anything that must be done |
| नna | not |
| विद्यतेvidyate | exists, is found |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 17 mean?
It names the single person exempt from prescribed work: the one whose delight, satisfaction and fullness are all located in the self. Not exempt because duty was abolished, but because the engine of wanting has gone quiet. Where nothing is missing, nothing must be fetched. Kāryam na vidyate — no task stands pending.
What does yas tvatma-ratir eva syad atma-triptash cha manavah teach?
That contentment is not a reward for finishing your work — it is a place you can already stand. Krishna says ātmani eva, in the self alone. The word mānavaḥ matters: any human being, not a special class of renouncer. The door is not narrow. It is only unfamiliar.
Does this verse permit me to stop working?
No — and Krishna guards that door in the next breath by pointing to his own tireless action. The verse describes a condition, not a permission. If you are still restless, still measuring, still waiting for something to arrive, work remains yours. Check honestly which one you are before claiming the exemption.
How can anyone be satisfied without getting anything?
Because satisfaction was never produced by getting. Every arrival delivers a brief quiet, then the wanting resumes — so the quiet clearly did not come from the object. Krishna points to what was making the quiet possible all along. Ātma-tṛpta is not a person with more; it is a person no longer short.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just said the wheel must be kept turning, work done for the world's sake. Now he names the one exception. Not the lazy, not the escapee — the one whose delight has stopped needing somewhere else to go. Look at why you act. Most action is a reaching: for approval, for relief, for the next thing that will finally settle you. Take away the lack and see what is left. Nothing remains to do means nothing remains to get. Such a person may still work all day; the hunger has simply gone out of it. Ask what your restlessness is shopping for.