Sanskrit
नैव तस्य कृतेनार्थो नाकृतेनेह कश्चन । न चास्य सर्वभूतेषु कश्चिदर्थव्यपाश्रयः ॥
naiva tasya kṛtenārtho nākṛteneha kaścana na cāsya sarvabhūteṣu kaścid arthavyapāśrayaḥ
Translation
For him there is no interest in things done, in this world, nor any in things not done, nor doth any object of his depend on any being.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Verse 17’s portrait is completed with total symmetry — no stake in action done, none in action left undone, and no dependence on any other being for anything. This is as far as the text pushes the case for pure self-sufficiency before reversing direction in verse 19 to explain why action continues anyway.
Concepts