Bhagavad Gita BG 4.41
Chapter 4, Verse 41 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
योगसंन्यस्तकर्माणं ज्ञानसञ्छिन्नसंशयम् । आत्मवन्तं न कर्माणि निबध्नन्ति धनञ्जय ॥
yoga-sannyasta-karmanam jnana-sanchinna-samsayam atmavantam na karmani nibadhnanti dhananjaya
Meaning
One who has renounced action through yoga, whose doubts are cut asunder by knowledge, who is established in the Self — actions do not bind him, O Dhananjaya.
Understanding
Three marks of the liberated person: yoga-sannyasta-karma (has renounced action through yoga — inner freedom from results, not outer abandonment), jnana-sanchinna-samsaya (doubts completely cut apart by knowledge — like a cord severed by a sword), and atmavat (established in the Self — the Atman is the axis). For such a person, actions simply do not bind.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| योगसंन्यस्त | yoga-sannyasta | renounced through yoga (inner renunciation) |
| ज्ञानसञ्छिन्न | jnana-sanchinna | cut asunder completely by knowledge |
| संशयम् | samsayam | doubt |
| आत्मवन्तम् | atmavantam | established in the Self, self-possessed |
| निबध्नन्ति | nibadhnanti | bind, fetter, tie down |
| कर्माणाम् | karmaṇām | of actions / from the bonds of action |
| धनञ्जय | dhanañjaya | O Dhananjaya (Arjuna — winner of wealth) |