Prakrityaiva Cha Karmani

Whoever recognizes that all actions — every single one — are performed by Prakriti alone, and that the Self is truly a non-doer, that person truly sees. This is a deep insight into the nature of agency.

Water flows down a riverbed. The water does not choose to flow; gravity and the slope of the land move it. In the same way, the body's actions arise from Prakriti's gunas. The soul watches. It does not act.

This teaching of the Self's non-doership echoes Gita 3.27, where Krishna says, 'Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvashah' — actions are performed by the gunas of Prakriti in all cases.

In the Gita Press edition, this is the twenty-ninth shloka. This verse and the remaining ones form the deepest philosophical layer of the chapter.