📿 Shloka Collection

Nirashir Yatachittatma

Gita 4.21 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4 — Gyana Karma Sannyasa Yoga
निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः ।
शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥
Nirashir yata-chittatma tyakta-sarva-parigrahah
Shariram kevalam karma kurvan napnoti kilbisham
निराशीः
without desire
यतचित्तात्मा
with mind and self under control
त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः
having given up all possessions
शारीरम्
bodily
केवलम्
only
कर्म
action
कुर्वन्
performing
not
आप्नोति
incurs
किल्बिषम्
sin, fault

Someone who eats only what the body needs, without craving taste, stays healthy and light. Krishna paints a similar picture of the liberated person: free from desire, mind firmly under control, all accumulation given up. Such a person performs only what the body requires — and incurs no fault whatsoever.

'Only bodily action' means doing what is necessary and nothing more. No hoarding, no scheming, no reaching beyond what the moment asks for. When action is pared down to bare necessity and the mind holds no craving, karma loses its power to bind.

This shloka extends the description begun in 4.20. There the emphasis was on contentment and non-attachment; here it is on minimalism and self-control.

The next shloka (4.22) adds another layer: equanimity in success and failure, freedom from envy, contentment with whatever comes unsought.

Chapter 4 · 21 / 42
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