Bhagavad Gita BG 5.14
Chapter 5, Verse 14 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभुः । न कर्मफलसंयोगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्तते ॥
na kartritvam na karmani lokasya srjati prabhuh na karma-phala-samyogam svabhavas tu pravartate
Meaning
The Lord does not create agency, nor actions, nor the union of action with fruit for anyone. Rather, it is one's own nature (svabhava) that flows (acts).
Understanding
A profound statement: prabhuh (the Lord — here meaning the inner Self/Consciousness) does not create kartritva (the sense of doership), nor karma (the actions), nor karma-phala-samyoga (the connection between actions and fruits). Then who does? Svabhavah pravartate — one's own nature (svabhava — the accumulated tendencies, gunas, habitual patterns) is what moves, what acts, what connects. The Self witnesses; nature operates.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| कर्तृत्वम् | kartritvam | doership, the sense of being the agent |
| प्रभुः | prabhuh | the Lord, the inner Self, the master |
| सृजति | srjati | creates, generates, produces |
| कर्मफलसंयोगम् | karma-phala-samyogam | union of action with its fruit |
| स्वभावः | svabhavah | one's own nature, inherent tendencies, gunas |
| न | na | not (does not create doership) |
| कर्माणि | karmāṇi | actions / activities (for the world) |
| लोकस्य | lokasya | of the world / for the world |
| तु | tu | but / however (it is Nature that acts) |
| प्रवर्तते | pravartate | proceeds / acts / moves (Nature acts) |