Bhagavad-gītā 5.10

Explain simply

Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa

ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः ।
लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥१०॥

brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi
saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ
lipyate na sa pāpena
padma-patram ivāmbhasā

Word for word (synonyms)

brahmaṇi
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
ādhāya
resigning unto
karmāṇi
all works
saṅgam
attachment
tyaktvā
giving up
karoti
performs
yaḥ
who
lipyate
is affected
na
never
saḥ
he
pāpena
by sin
padma-patram
lotus leaf
iva
like
ambhasā
in the water

Translation

One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme God, is not affected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Defined in the Gītā

Surrender

Who surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, and who does not?

O best among the Bhāratas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.

Bhagavad-gītā 7.16

See the definition

Purport

Other scriptures cited in this purport: Śrī Īśopaniṣad

Here brahmaṇi means in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The material world is a sum total manifestation of the three modes of material nature, technically called the pradhāna. The Vedic hymns, sarvam etad brahma, tasmād etad brahma nāma-rūpam annaṁ ca jāyate, and, in the Bhagavad-gītā, mama yonir mahad brahma, indicate that everything in the material world is the manifestation of Brahman; and, although the effects are differently manifested, they are nondifferent from the cause. In the Īśopaniṣad it is said that everything is related to the Supreme Brahman or Kṛṣṇa, and thus everything belongs to Him only. One who knows perfectly well that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, that He is the proprietor of everything and that, therefore, everything is engaged in the service of the Lord, naturally has nothing to do with the results of his activities, whether virtuous or sinful. Even one's material body, being a gift of the Lord for carrying out a particular type of action, can be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is beyond contamination by sinful reactions, exactly as the lotus leaf, though remaining in the water, is not wet. The Lord also says in the Gītā: mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasya: "Resign all works unto Me [Kṛṣṇa]." The conclusion is that a person without Kṛṣṇa consciousness acts according to the concept of the material body and senses, but a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness acts according to the knowledge that the body is the property of Kṛṣṇa and should therefore be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa.

What this verse teaches

Characteristics of a Yoga-yukta – never entangled; self controlled; doer not non-doer; works for the Supreme with detachment, seeking purification → attains peace.

In thematic compilations 1

The Five Topics

  • One who works with knowledge, renunciation, self-realization for the Supreme is a true yogī and is not bound by karma (4.41, 5.10, 6.1, 2.39)
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 1
Articles on this verse 1

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.