Devanagari
यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते ।
हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते ॥ १७ ॥
Verse text
yasya nāhaṅkṛto bhāvo
buddhir yasya na lipyate
hatvāpi sa imāḻ lokān
na hanti na nibadhyate
Synonyms
yasya
—
one whose
;
na
—
never
;
ahaṅkṛtaḥ
—
of false ego
;
bhāvaḥ
—
nature
;
buddhiḥ
—
intelligence
;
yasya
—
one whose
;
na
—
never
;
lipyate
—
is attached
;
hatvā
—
killing
;
api
—
even
;
saḥ
—
he
;
imān
—
this
;
lokān
—
world
;
na
—
never
;
hanti
—
kills
;
na
—
never
;
nibadhyate
—
becomes entangled.
Translation
One who is not motivated by false ego, whose intelligence is not entangled, though he kills men in this world, does not kill. Nor is he bound by his actions.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
17. He who does not think he is the doer, and is not attached to actions by thinking them good or bad, does not kill even though he kills, and is not bound.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
17. He who does not think he is the doer, and is not attached to actions thinking them good or bad, does not kill all these people, even though he kills them, and is not contaminated by the killing.
Purport
In this verse the Lord informs Arjuna that the desire not to fight arises from false ego. Arjuna thought himself to be the doer of action, but he did not consider the supreme sanction within and without. If one does not know that a supersanction is there, why should he act? But one who knows the instruments of work, himself as the worker, and the Supreme Lord as the supreme sanctioner is perfect in doing everything. Such a person is never in illusion. Personal activity and responsibility arise from false ego and godlessness, or a lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Anyone who is acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness under the direction of the Supersoul or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even though killing, does not kill. Nor is he ever affected by the reaction of such killing. When a soldier kills under the command of a superior officer, he is not subject to be judged. But if a soldier kills on his own personal account, then he is certainly judged by a court of law.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Who then is intelligent with good eyes? One who does not have the nature of ahaṅkāra (ahaṅkṛto bhāvaḥ), who is not thinking himself the doer, who is not attached to actions by thinking the action will give good or bad results (yasya buddhir na lipyate), does not obtain reactions of karma. What else can be said? Though he may do pious or sinful acts, he does not do them. Though it may appear from ordinary vision that he has killed all these living beings, he does not kill, from his own vision, because he has no motive for the action. Therefore he is not bound. He does not receive the reactions of karma.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
Who then is the wise man who has eyes to see?
That person who has powers to think (bhāvaḥ), knowing that his action is dependent on the Lord, and thus does not think that he is the only doer (na ahaṅkṛtaḥ), whose intelligence is not contaminated by desires for results of his actions (na lipyate), even though he has killed not just Bhīṣma but all others (imāl lokān), does not kill them. Nor is he contaminated by the action of killing all of them.
Surrender Unto Me
Krsna is telling this for no chanced reason to Arjuna who is poised on the battlefield, and Krsna is asking him to fight and even to kill.
Srila Prabhupada explains in his Purport: "In this verse the Lord informs Arjuna that the desire not to fight arises from false ego. Arjuna thought himself to be the doer of action, but he did not consider the supreme sanction within and without. If one does not know that a supersanction is there, why should he act? But one who knows the instruments of work, himself as the worker, and the Supreme Lord as the supreme sanctioner is perfect in doing everything. Such a person is never in illusion. Personal activity and responsibility arise from false ego and godlessness, or a lack of Krsna consciousness. Anyone who is acting in Krsna consciousness under the direction of the Supersoul or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even though killing, does not kill. Nor is he ever affected by the reaction of such killing. When a soldier kills under the command of a superior officer, he is not subject to be judged. But if a soldier kills on his own personal account, then he is certainly judged by a court of law."
The first two words in the next text are 'jnanam jneyam'. From which chapter did we hear these words? ‑ From Chapter Thirteen. Jnana means knowledge or the process of knowledge, and jneyam the object of knowledge.
Because this is summarizing this jnana section, Krsna is going to further analyze action.