Sanskrit
यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः । आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥
yas tv ātmaratir eva syād ātmatṛptaś ca mānavaḥ ātmany eva ca santuṣṭas tasya kāryaṃ na vidyate
Translation
But the man who rejoiceth in the Self, with the Self is satisfied, and is content in the Self, for him verily there is nothing to do;
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The exception to verse 16’s wheel: someone whose satisfaction is entirely self-contained — delighting, content, and satisfied in atman alone — has nothing that remains to be done. This is essentially chapter 2’s sthitaprajna (2.55-59) described again from a different angle, action rather than emotion, and it sets up the real puzzle of the chapter: if such a person has “nothing to do,” why does Krishna spend verses 19-26 insisting they should still act?
Concepts