📿 Shloka Collection

Nadatte Kasyachit Papam

Gita 5.15 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5 — Karma Sannyasa Yoga
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः ।
अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः ॥
Nadatte kasyachit papam na chaiva sukritam vibhuh
Ajnanenāvritam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavah
न आदत्ते
does not take on
कस्यचित्
of anyone
पापम्
sin
न च एव
and certainly not
सुकृतम्
merit, virtue
विभुः
the all-pervading Lord
अज्ञानेन
by ignorance
आवृतम्
covered
ज्ञानम्
knowledge
तेन
by that
मुह्यन्ति
are deluded
जन्तवः
living beings

The all-pervading Lord does not absorb anyone's sin and does not absorb anyone's merit either. God is completely untouched. Then why do beings wander in confusion? Because their knowledge is covered by ignorance.

Clouds do not actually cover the sun. The sun keeps shining exactly as before. But when thick clouds gather, we cannot see the sun. Ignorance works the same way — it covers knowledge, and so we stumble.

This shloka extends the teaching of 5.14. God is not the owner of anyone's karma-phala. Those who do not understand this live in ignorance. Tradition equates ignorance with the veil of maya. When knowledge rises, the veil lifts — the very next shloka (5.16) states exactly this.

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