Devanagari
अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्यय: ।
शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥ ३२ ॥
Verse text
anāditvān nirguṇatvāt
paramātmāyam avyayaḥ
śarīra-stho ’pi kaunteya
na karoti na lipyate
Synonyms
anāditvāt
—
due to eternity
;
nirguṇatvāt
—
due to being transcendental
;
parama
—
beyond material nature
;
ātmā
—
spirit
;
ayam
—
this
;
avyayaḥ
—
inexhaustible
;
śarīra-sthaḥ
—
dwelling in the body
;
api
—
though
;
kaunteya
—
O son of Kuntī
;
na karoti
—
never does anything
;
na lipyate
—
nor is he entangled.
Translation
Those with the vision of eternity can see that the imperishable soul is transcendental, eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
32. Because He is the supreme cause and everything arises from Him, this indestructible Paramātmā, though situated in the body, does not think Himself the doer and is not contaminated.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
32. Though situated in the body, as well as being without beginning, the ātmā is without destruction. Because the ātmā is beyond the guṇas, he is not the agent of action nor is he contaminated.
Purport
A living entity appears to be born because of the birth of the material body, but actually the living entity is eternal; he is not born, and in spite of his being situated in a material body, he is transcendental and eternal. Thus he cannot be destroyed. By nature he is full of bliss. He does not engage himself in any material activities; therefore the activities performed due to his contact with material bodies do not entangle him.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
“You have said that the jīva in contact with his body takes repeated birth (verse 22). The jīva, by thinking himself the body by being in the body, becomes contaminated by the guṇas and takes repeated birth. But the Paramātmā does not become contaminated. Why?”
He is called anādi because He has no original cause. But just as anuttama can mean parama uttama taking the ablative sense of the word (no one higher than Him), so anādi, “having no cause”, can mean the supreme cause (no other cause than Him). Therefore because He is the final cause (anāditvāt), and because the guṇas such as creation and destruction arise out of Him (nirgataḥ + guṇa = nirguṇatvāt), this Paramātmā is distinguished from the jīva. At all times, in all circumstances, He is without decrease in His own knowledge, bliss and other qualities. Though situated in the body, because He does not take up the qualities of the body, He does not think He is a doer like the jīva (na karoti)— He does not become an enjoyer—nor does He get contaminated by the guṇas of the material body (na lipyate).
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
“It is not correct to say that one reaches perfection by seeing the distinction of the Lord and ātmā from prakṛti. The śruti says:
etebhya eva bhūtebhyaḥ samutthāya tāny evānu vinaśyati na pretya saṁjṣāsti
Rising out of the elements, this ātmā vanishes in them. After destruction, there is no definition. Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.12
From this śruti statement it is understood that the jīva is created and destroyed along with his body.”
No, this jīva (ayam ātmā), even though situated in a body, as well as being without beginning (anāditvāt param), is avyaya. Having this prominent quality of being without change (avyaya), he is thus without destruction. He does not perform actions such as fighting or sacrifice, because he is without material guṇas, being pure knowledge and bliss (nirguṇatvāt). He is not touched by the qualities of destruction arising from the nature of the senses and body. The meaning of the śruti statement quoted should not be taken literally.