Bhagavad Gita BG 5.8
Chapter 5, Verse 8 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
नैव किञ्चित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित् । पश्यञ्शृण्वन्स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन् नश्नन्गच्छन्स्वपञ्श्वसन् ॥
naiva kincit karomiti yukto manyeta tattva-vit pashyan shrinvan sprishan jighran ashnan gacchan svapan shvasan
Meaning
'I do not do anything at all' — thus the one united in yoga, the knower of truth, should think — while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing.
Understanding
The extraordinary declaration of the tattva-vit (knower of truth): 'naiva kincit karomi' — I do not do ANYTHING at all. While all activities continue — seeing (pashyan), hearing (shrinvan), touching (sprishan), smelling (jighran), eating (ashnan), moving (gacchan), sleeping (svapan), breathing (shvasan) — the witness-Self knows it is not the doer of any of it. The body-mind complex acts; the Self witnesses.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| तत्त्ववित् | tattva-vit | knower of truth, one who knows the real |
| मन्येत | manyeta | should think, should know |
| पश्यन् | pashyan | while seeing |
| स्पृशन् | sprishan | while touching |
| श्वसन् | shvasan | while breathing |
| न एव | naiva | not at all / never (I do nothing at all) |
| किञ्चित् | kiñcit | anything / nothing whatsoever |
| करोमि | karomi | I do / I perform |
| इति | iti | thus (thinking: "I do nothing") |
| युक्तः | yuktaḥ | the disciplined one / the yogi |
| शृण्वन् | śṛṇvan | hearing / listening |
| जिघ्रन् | jighran | smelling / inhaling |
| अश्नन् | aśnan | eating / tasting |
| गच्छन् | gacchan | moving / going |
| स्वपन् | svapan | sleeping |