Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 5, Verse 14
न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभुः।
न कर्मफलसंयोगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्तते।।
न कर्मफलसंयोगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्तते।।
na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ
na karma-phala-saṅyogaṁ svabhāvas tu pravartate
also searched as "na kartritvam na karmani lokasya srijati prabhuh"
Translation
The Lord of the body (the Self, i.e., the Jiva) does not create agency, nor actions, nor union with the fruits of actions in relation to the world of selves; only the inherent tendencies function.
Vāṇi's rendering
The self makes no one a doer, makes no deeds, ties no deed to fruit. One's own nature does the doing.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not |
| कर्तृत्वम्kartṛtvaṁ | doership; the state of being the one who acts |
| नna | nor |
| कर्माणिkarmāṇi | deeds, actions |
| लोकस्यlokasya | of the world, for the world of beings |
| सृजतिsṛjati | creates, brings forth |
| प्रभुःprabhuḥ | the lord within, the self seated in the body |
| नna | nor |
| कर्मफलसंयोगम्karma-phala-saṅyogaṁ | the joining of a deed to its fruit |
| स्वभावःsvabhāvas | one's own nature, inborn tendency (svabhāvaḥ, its final sound softened before tu) |
| तुtu | but, rather |
| प्रवर्ततेpravartate | sets itself going, does the working |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 Verse 14 mean?
It means the self within you is not the manufacturer of action. It does not hand out doership, does not produce deeds, does not fasten a deed to its reward. What moves is svabhāva — inherited nature, temperament, habit, the body's own momentum. The one who watches all this move is untouched by it.
What does 'na kartritvam na karmani lokasya' mean?
Neither doership nor deeds does the lord within create for the world. Krishna denies three things in one breath: the sense of being an agent, the actions themselves, and the link binding action to its fruit. None of these originate in the self. They belong to nature's turning.
If nature does everything, am I responsible for what I do?
Yes. Krishna is not dissolving accountability; he is dissolving vanity. The deed still lands, the fruit still ripens, and Arjuna is still told to fight. What changes is the swelling in the chest that says mine. You act, and you stop mistaking the acting for who you are.
What is svabhava in this verse?
Svabhāva is your own nature — the make of your body, the grain of your temperament, the grooves worn by everything you have already done. It is not a mystical force. It is the actual weather you live inside, and it moves whether you claim it or not.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna is not excusing anyone. He is locating the machinery. Something acts — hands move, words leave the mouth, consequence follows consequence — and the mind adds a claim on top: I did that. That claim is the only thing added. The self that watches does not issue doership, does not manufacture deeds, does not tie the deed to what comes back. Nature, svabhāva, the whole inherited weather of body and habit, does the doing. Arjuna wants to know who is answerable for the slaughter. The answer is not the man he takes himself to be. Watch your hands work tomorrow, and see how much of it you authored.