Verse 13.30
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः | यः पश्यति तथात्मानमकर्तारं स पश्यति ||३०||
Transliteration (IAST)
prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ | yaḥ paśyati tathātmānam akartāraṁ sa paśyati ||30||
Word-by-Word Meanings
prakṛtyā-by Prakriti (nature)
eva-alone
karmāṇi-actions
kriyamāṇāni-being performed
sarvaśaḥ-in all respects
ātmānam-the Self
akartāram-the non-doer
sa paśyati-he (truly) sees
Translation
One who sees that all actions are performed by Prakriti alone, and that the Self is the non-doer - that person truly sees.
Commentary
This verse restates the fundamental insight of Sankhya philosophy within the Gita's framework: all activity belongs to Prakriti (the gunas interacting with each other), while the Self (Purusha/Atman) is eternally inactive. Shankaracharya considers this realization of non-doership as the essence of liberating knowledge. It echoes the teaching of 3.27 and 5.8-9.
Themes
jnanakarmaatman