Bhagavad Gita BG 4.23
Chapter 4, Verse 23 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः । यज्ञायाचरतः कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते ॥
gata-sangasya muktasya jnanavastita-cetasah yajnayacaratah karma samagram praviliyate
Meaning
For one free from attachment, liberated, with mind steadied in knowledge, acting for yajna (sacrifice/the divine purpose) — all karma completely dissolves.
Understanding
The culminating description of liberated action: gata-sanga (attachment gone — not suppressed but truly dissolved), mukta (already liberated — not seeking liberation as a goal but acting from a liberated state), jnanavashita-cetas (mind steadied in knowledge — grounded in discriminative understanding). When action (karma) is yajna-aya-carat (done as yajna — as offering, for the divine purpose, not for personal gain) — samagram praviliyate — ALL karma (samagram — completely, without remainder) dissolves (praviliyate — melts away like mist in sunlight).
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| गतसङ्गस्य | gata-sangasya | of one from whom attachment has gone |
| मुक्तस्य | muktasya | of the liberated one |
| ज्ञानावस्थित | jnanavashita | steadied in knowledge |
| यज्ञाय | yajnaya | as yajna, for the divine purpose |
| समग्रम् | samagram | completely, entirely, wholly |
| प्रविलीयते | praviliyate | dissolves, melts away, disappears |
| चेतसः | cetasaḥ | of one whose mind / of that person's mind |
| कर्म | karma | action / all deeds |
| आचरतः | ācarataḥ | performing / acting (for sacrifice) |