📿 Shloka Collection

Kim Karma Kim Akarmeti

Gita 4.16 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4 — Gyana Karma Sannyasa Yoga
किं कर्म किमकर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिताः ।
तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् ॥
Kim karma kim akarmeti kavayo'py atra mohitah
Tat te karma pravakshyami yaj jnatva mokshyase'shubhat
किम्
what
कर्म
action
किम् अकर्म
what is inaction
कवयः
the wise, the learned
अपि
even
अत्र
in this matter
मोहिताः
confused, bewildered
तत्
that
प्रवक्ष्यामि
I shall explain
यत्
which
ज्ञात्वा
knowing
मोक्ष्यसे
you shall be freed
अशुभात्
from evil, from inauspiciousness

What counts as real action? What counts as true inaction? This question has puzzled even learned scholars. Krishna acknowledges the difficulty openly. The topic is subtle enough to bewilder the wise — so Arjuna should not feel ashamed of his own confusion.

But the promise that follows is comforting. Krishna says: I will explain this to you in a way that, once understood, will free you from all evil. When the best teacher in the room promises to make a hard subject simple, the student can relax and listen.

This shloka opens the discussion on karma, akarma, and vikarma that continues through 4.17 and 4.18. It is considered one of the Gita's subtlest philosophical passages.

Tradition has long explored the puzzle posed here: can a person be sitting still yet performing action? Can a person be working yet be in a state of inaction?

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