Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 5, Verse 7
योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः।
सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते।।
सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते।।
yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ
sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā kurvann api na lipyate
also searched as "yogayukto vishuddhatma vijitatma jitendriyah"
Translation
He who follows the Yoga and is pure in mind, who has subdued his self and has conquered his senses, and whose self has become the self of all beings, even while he is acting, remains untainted.
Vāṇi's rendering
Purified by practice, self mastered, senses mastered, one with the self in all beings — acting, yet unstained.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| योगyoga | union; disciplined practice |
| युक्तःyuktaḥ | yoked, joined, harmonised |
| विशुद्धviśuddha | wholly purified |
| आत्माātmā | self, inner being (sandhi: viśuddha + ātmā) |
| विजितvijita | fully mastered |
| आत्माātmā | self, here the mind |
| जितjita | conquered |
| इन्द्रियःindriyaḥ | senses (sandhi: jita + indriyaḥ) |
| सर्वsarva | all |
| भूतbhūta | beings, existing things |
| आत्मātma | the self (of all beings) |
| भूतbhūta | become, having become |
| आत्माātmā | one whose self (has so become) |
| कुर्वन्kurvan | acting, doing (sandhi: kurvan + api) |
| अपिapi | even, although |
| नna | not |
| लिप्यतेlipyate | is smeared, is stained, is tainted |
Frequently asked
Does this verse mean a purified person can act without any consequence?
It means the action leaves no residue in him. Krishna says na lipyate — he is not smeared. The deed still lands in the world and does its work there; what is missing is the private stake, the ownership that turns a deed into a burden. Nothing sticks because there is no separate self left for it to stick to.
Why does Krishna list purity, self-mastery and sense-control before the acting?
Because they are the condition, not the reward. Yoga-yukta comes first: joined to practice. Purification, a steady mind and quiet senses grow out of that yoking. Only then does the last line make sense — someone whose self has become the self in all beings has no motive of his own to protect while he works.
How can my self become the self in all beings in ordinary life?
Not by feeling large, but by noticing how small the boundary actually is. The verse points at the same knower in every body. Begin where you already stand: treat the person in front of you as not-other, and act. The staining is done by the line you draw, not by the labour.
Is this verse recommending renunciation of action?
The opposite. Chapter five keeps refusing that escape. Krishna has just said renunciation without yoga is hard to reach; here he shows the alternative — kurvann api, even while acting. Withdrawal is not required. Purity of motive is.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Four qualifications, and then the claim. Krishna is not describing a man who has stopped working; he is describing what work does to someone with nothing left in him for it to catch on. Stain needs a surface. One who has become the self in all beings has no private edge for consequence to cling to — no separate account being kept, nothing to defend. Notice the order. Purification comes through practice, not before it. Mastery is not the entry fee for the field; it is what the field grows in you. So the office, the kitchen, the argument you dread — that is the workshop. Act there, and let nothing stick.