Sanskrit
कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः । जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम् ॥
karmajaṃ buddhiyuktā hi phalaṃ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ janmabandhavinirmuktāḥ padaṃ gacchanty anāmayam
Translation
The Sages, united to the Pure Reason, renounce the fruit which action yieldeth, and, liberated from the bonds of birth, they go to the blissful seat.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
States the stakes plainly: this isn’t a technique for better outcomes, it’s what liberation from rebirth actually consists in, according to this passage. The sages described here aren’t people who avoid action, but people who’ve stopped being bound by what it produces — the same “bonds of action” verse 39 promised this teaching would loosen.
Concepts