Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 20
त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः।
कर्मण्यभिप्रवृत्तोऽपि नैव किञ्चित्करोति सः।।
कर्मण्यभिप्रवृत्तोऽपि नैव किञ्चित्करोति सः।।
tyaktvā karma-phalāsaṅgaṁ nitya-tṛpto nirāśrayaḥ
karmaṇyabhipravṛtto ’pi naiva kiñcit karoti saḥ
also searched as "tyaktva karma-phalasangam nitya-tripto nirashrayah"
Translation
Having renounced attachment to the fruits of their actions, ever contented with the eternal self, and dependent on none, one does not act at all, even while being engaged in action.
Vāṇi's rendering
Dropping all claim on results, content, leaning on nothing — though fully at work, such a one does nothing.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| त्यक्त्वाtyaktvā | having let go, having abandoned |
| कर्मkarma | action, work |
| फलphala | fruit, result |
| आसङ्गम्āsaṅgam | clinging, attachment (to) |
| नित्यnitya | always, unbroken |
| तृप्तःtṛptaḥ | satisfied, full |
| निराश्रयःnirāśrayaḥ | leaning on nothing, without support or refuge |
| कर्मणिkarmaṇi | in action, in work (sandhi: karmaṇi + abhipravṛttaḥ) |
| अभिप्रवृत्तःabhipravṛttaḥ | fully engaged, thoroughly set to work |
| अपिapi | even, although |
| नna | not (sandhi: na + eva = naiva) |
| एवeva | indeed, at all |
| किञ्चित्kiñcit | anything whatsoever |
| करोतिkaroti | does, performs |
| सःsaḥ | he, such a one |
Frequently asked
How can someone be fully at work and still be said to do nothing?
Because the doer has gone out of the doing. The work continues — Krishna never asks for withdrawal — but no one inside is staking a claim on what the work will bring. What remains is action without an owner, and that is what Krishna calls doing nothing.
What does nirashrayah mean here — is it a call to give up everything?
It means leaning on nothing for inner support. Not homelessness, not poverty. The contentment does not rest on outcome, praise, security, or the good opinion of others, so nothing can be removed that would topple it.
Is contentment realistic while working hard at something that matters?
Krishna says it is, because the contentment does not come from the work going well. It is already there before the work starts. That is why he calls it nitya — unbroken. Success adds nothing to it and failure subtracts nothing.
Does this verse mean I should stop caring about results?
It means stop carrying them. Aim carefully, work well, want the thing to succeed. What is dropped is the grip — the sense that the result belongs to you and that your worth rides on it.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Watch the word nothing. The one Krishna describes is busy — hands moving, decisions made, the day full. What is missing is the claimant. He has dropped his claim on results, so no result can feed him or starve him; he is already content, and he leans on nothing to stay that way. Take away the one who acts in order to get, and the action still happens, but the doing has gone out of it. This is not a trick of attitude. It is what work feels like when you are not using it to become someone. You still show up tomorrow.