Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः ।
आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥१७॥
yas tv ātma-ratir eva syād
ātma-tṛptaś ca mānavaḥ
ātmany eva ca santuṣṭas
tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate
Word for word (synonyms)
- yaḥ
- one who
- tu
- but
- ātma-ratiḥ
- takes pleasure
- eva
- certainly
- syāt
- remains
- ātma-tṛptaḥ
- self-illuminated
- ca
- and
- mānavaḥ
- a man
- ātmani
- in himself
- eva
- only
- ca
- and
- santuṣṭaḥ
- perfectly satiated
- tasya
- his
- kāryam
- duty
- na
- does not
- vidyate
- exist
Translation
One who is, however, taking pleasure in the self, who is illumined in the self, who rejoices in and is satisfied with the self only, fully satiated—for him there is no duty.
Purport
A person who is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, and is fully satisfied by his acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no longer has any duty to perform. Due to his being Kṛṣṇa conscious, all impiety within is instantly cleansed, an effect of many, many thousands of yajña performances. By such clearing of consciousness, one becomes fully confident of his eternal position in relationship with the Supreme. His duty thus becomes self-illuminated by the grace of the Lord, and therefore he no longer has any obligations to the Vedic injunctions. Such a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is no longer interested in material activities and no longer takes pleasure in material arrangements like wine, women and similar infatuations.
What this verse teaches
Self-realized person has no duty
In thematic compilations 1
- For a self-satisfied person there is no prescribed duty. (3.17 tasmād asaktaḥ...)
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 3
- Bhagavad-gītā 3.16–17 1966-05-25 · New York
- Bhagavad-gītā 3.17–20 1966-05-27 · New York
- Bhagavad-gītā 3.11-19 1968-12-27 · Los Angeles
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.