Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 17
कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः।
अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः।।
अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः।।
karmaṇo hyapi boddhavyaṁ boddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ
akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṁ gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ
also searched as "karmano hyapi boddhavyam boddhavyam cha vikarmanah"
Translation
For, there is what ought to be known in action; likewise, there is what ought to be known in multi-form action; and there is what ought to be understood in non-action. Thus, mysterious is the way of action.
Vāṇi's rendering
The way of action runs deep. You must understand right action, wrong action, and inaction alike.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कर्मणःkarmaṇaḥ | of action |
| हिhi | indeed (joined with the next word as hyapi) |
| अपिapi | also, even |
| बोद्धव्यम्boddhavyam | must be understood |
| बोद्धव्यम्boddhavyam | must be understood |
| चca | and |
| विकर्मणःvikarmaṇaḥ | of wrong action, action that goes against what is right |
| अकर्मणःakarmaṇaḥ | of inaction, of not-doing (its final sound softens before ca) |
| चca | and |
| बोद्धव्यम्boddhavyam | must be understood |
| गहनाgahanā | deep, dense, hard to see into |
| कर्मणःkarmaṇaḥ | of action |
| गतिःgatiḥ | the way, the course it runs |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 17 mean?
It means action is not simple. Krishna says three things must be understood: what is right to do, what is wrong to do, and what not-doing really is. He calls the way of action gahanā — deep, hard to see into. Right and wrong are not always where they look, and stillness is not always innocent.
What does karmano hyapi boddhavyam mean?
Karmaṇaḥ boddhavyam — even action itself must be understood. Krishna is not asking Arjuna to work harder. He is asking him to look at what he is already doing and what he calls doing nothing. The verse assumes you have been mistaken about this, and it is right.
Why does Krishna say the path of action is hard to understand?
Because motive hides inside deed. Two people perform the same act for opposite reasons, and the act does not announce which is which. Gahanā means dense, like undergrowth. You cannot read karma off the surface of behaviour — yours or anyone's. That is why the Gītā spends a chapter on it.
Is doing nothing the same as inaction in the Gita?
No. Akarma in Krishna's mouth is not idleness. Refusing to act is itself a choice with consequences attached, and Arjuna's proposed withdrawal is the clearest example in the whole text. Real inaction is inward — acting without grasping at the result. Sitting out is not the same as letting go.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just called the wise confused. Now he tells you why. The way of action runs deep — gahanā, a word used for forests and for water too dark to see the bottom of. Right action must be understood. So must wrong action. So must the doing of nothing, because sitting still is also a deed, and Arjuna's retreat from the battlefield would be the loudest act in this war. You cannot step out of karma by refusing to move. The question is never whether you act. It is whether you looked into the water before you stepped in.