Sanskrit
अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्माऽयमव्ययः । शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥
anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmāyam avyayaḥ śarīrastho 'pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate
Translation
Being beginningless and without qualities, the imperishable supreme Self, though seated in the body, O Kaunteya, worketh not nor is affected.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A direct restatement of verse 30’s claim with its reasoning made explicit: because the supreme self is beginningless and nirguna — without the gunas, free of the qualities that make action possible in the first place — it doesn’t act or become tainted even while seated in a body. Nirguna here does the same work “free from qualities” did back in verse 15’s paradox list — the self isn’t one more thing shaped by sattva, rajas, and tamas, which is precisely why prakriti, not purusha, has to be the one performing every action.
Concepts