Bhagavad Gita BG 3.5
Chapter 3, Verse 5 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् । कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥ ५ ॥
na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ
Meaning
No one can remain without action even for a moment. Every person is helplessly driven to act by the qualities (guṇas) born of material nature (prakṛti).
Understanding
This is one of the most important factual statements in the Gita. Even sitting still, you are breathing, digesting, thinking, feeling — nature never stops acting through you. The three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas) are the active forces of prakṛti, and every embodied being is subject to them. The word avaśaḥ means 'without independence' or 'helplessly' — not that we are robots, but that action is inescapable for embodied beings. The practical implication: since you cannot not act, the question is not whether to act but how — with attachment or without.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| क्षणम् | kṣaṇam | even for a moment / an instant |
| अकर्मकृत् | akarma-kṛt | without performing action / actionless |
| अवशः | avaśaḥ | helplessly / without independence / involuntarily |
| प्रकृतिजैः | prakṛti-jaiḥ | born of prakṛti / arising from material nature |
| गुणैः | guṇaiḥ | by the gunas (qualities: sattva, rajas, tamas) |
| न हि | na hi | for not / certainly not |
| कश्चित् | kaścit | anyone / any person |
| अपि | api | even / also |
| जातु | jātu | ever / at any time |
| तिष्ठति | tiṣṭhati | remains / stays / abides |
| कार्यते | kāryate | is made to act / is compelled |
| हि | hi | for / indeed (causal) |
| कर्म | karma | action (is compelled) |
| सर्वः | sarvaḥ | everyone / all |