Sanskrit
कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः । स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत् ॥
karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyed akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu sa yuktaḥ kṛtsna-karma-kṛt
Translation
He who seeth inaction in action, and action in inaction, he is wise among men, he is harmonious, even while performing all action.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The chapter’s central paradox, stated in its sharpest form: the wise person sees inaction within action and action within inaction. Read against verse 20’s description of someone who “does nothing although doing actions,” this is pointing at the gap between the physical fact of an act and its karmic weight — action performed without ego-driven craving generates no binding residue, so it counts, in the relevant sense, as no action at all. The figure described here is close kin to the sthitaprajna of 2.55-2.72, now defined specifically through the lens of action rather than consciousness.
Concepts