18.15

Sanskrit

शरीरवाङ्‌मनोभिर्यत्कर्म प्रारभते नरः । न्याय्यं वा विपरीतं वा पञ्चैते तस्य हेतवः ॥ १५ ॥

śarīravāṅmanobhir yat karma prārabhate naraḥ nyāyyaṃ vā viparītaṃ vā pañcaite tasya hetavaḥ

Translation

Whatever action a man performeth by his body, speech and mind, whether right or the reverse, these five are the cause thereof.

Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain

Explanation

Whatever a person does — through body, speech, or mind, whether proper or its opposite — traces back to these same five causes. Extending the causal analysis to speech and thought as well as physical deed closes an obvious loophole: this isn’t only about visible action, it’s about the full range of what a person “does” in any register.