Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 21
निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः।
शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्।।
शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्।।
nirāśīr yata-cittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ
śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
also searched as "nirashir yatachittatma tyaktasarvaparigrahah"
Translation
Free from desire, his intellect and mind controlled, having given up all possessions, and doing bodily work only, he is not subject to evil.
Vāṇi's rendering
Wanting nothing, self reined in, claims surrendered, acting only to keep the body — no sin touches them.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| निराशीःnirāśīḥ | wanting nothing, expecting no gain (appears as nirāśīr before the next word) |
| यतचित्तात्माyata-cittātmā | one whose mind and self are held in rein |
| त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहःtyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ | having let go of every possession and claim |
| शारीरम्śārīram | of the body, bodily |
| केवलम्kevalam | only, merely |
| कर्मkarma | action, work |
| कुर्वन्kurvan | doing, while performing |
| नna | not (joins the next word as nāpnoti) |
| आप्नोतिāpnoti | reaches, incurs |
| किल्बिषम्kilbiṣam | taint, the residue left by action |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 21 mean?
It describes someone who still acts but no longer owns. Desire is gone, the mind is reined in, possessions and claims are set down, and what remains is the plain upkeep of the body. Krishna says such action leaves no kilbiṣam — no residue. The doing was never the problem; the holding was.
What does nirashir yatachittatma tyaktasarvaparigrahah teach about work?
That work is not renounced, only the ownership of it. Nirāśīḥ means expecting nothing from the outcome; tyakta-parigrahaḥ means having released the claim. You can wake, labor, and sleep exactly as before, and still nothing accumulates — because you stopped signing your name to it.
Does this verse mean I should give up everything I own?
Parigraha is grasping more than property. It is the reflex that says mine, and it operates on things, people, reputations, and results alike. Krishna is not sending you into poverty. He is asking you to notice the hand that closes — and to let it open while the work goes on.
What is kilbisha and why does it not touch such a person?
Kilbiṣa is the taint action leaves behind, the trace that hardens into the next compulsion. It forms where there is a claimant. Remove the wanting and the owning, and the deed passes through without depositing anything. Action still happens. There is simply no one left collecting it.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has been describing someone free, and now he says what freedom costs. Not the work — the work continues. What goes is the wanting, the grip, the claim. Such a person eats, walks, labors, keeps the body running, and nothing sticks. Kilbiṣa is the residue action leaves, the stain that becomes the next compulsion. Arjuna fears the killing will mark him. Krishna answers that the mark comes from ownership, not from motion. Notice how much of your day is done simply to keep the body upright, and how little of that you would call sin. The rest is what you claim.