Bhagavad Gita BG 18.17
Chapter 18, Verse 17 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते । हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान् न हन्ति न निबध्यते ॥
yasya na-ahankrto bhavo buddhir yasya na lipyate hatva api sa iman lokan na hanti na nibadhyate
Meaning
One whose sense of agency is not ego-motivated (na-ahankrta), whose intellect is not tainted — even if such a one slays these people, they neither slay nor are bound.
Understanding
The shocking application: na ahankrto bhava (no ego-sense of 'I-am-the-doer'). Buddhir na lipyate (the intellect is not tainted/colored by the action). Hatva api sa iman lokan (even if they slay these people/worlds) na hanti na nibadhyate (they neither slay nor are bound by karma). This directly addresses Arjuna's situation: the one who acts from pure being without ego-doership is free. This is the teaching that the true Self is not the doer — the Atman is always the Witness, never the agent. Action happens through the body and gunas; the Atman remains untouched.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अहंकृतः | ahankrtah | ego-motivated, caused by the I-sense/ahankara |
| भावः | bhavah | feeling, sense, state of being |
| लिप्यते | lipyate | is tainted, is colored, is attached |
| हत्वा | hatva | having slain, after killing |
| निबध्यते | nibadhyate | is bound, is fettered by karma |
| यस्य | yasya | whose |
| न | na ahankṛtaḥ | not egotistic |
| भावः | bhāvaḥ | attitude, feeling |
| बुद्धिः | buddhiḥ | intelligence |
| यस्य | yasya | whose |
| न | na lipyate | is not tainted |
| हत्वा | hatvā api | even having killed |
| सः | saḥ | he |
| इमान् | imān | these |
| लोकान् | lokān | worlds, people |
| न | na hanti | does not kill |
| न | na nibadhyate | is not bound |