Shloka

गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः |
यज्ञायाचरतः कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते ||४-२३||

Transliteration

gatasaṅgasya muktasya jñānāvasthitacetasaḥ .
yajñāyācarataḥ karma samagraṃ pravilīyate ||4-23||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

4.23. The action gets dissolved completely in the case of the person who undertakes it for the sake of sacrifice; who is rid of attachment and is freed; and who has his mind fixed in wisdom.

Shri Purohit Swami

4.23 He who is without attachment, free, his mind centered in wisdom, his actions, being done as a sacrifice, leave no trace behind.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

4.23 Gatasangasya etc. For sacrifice (yajnaya) : The singular number is to be construed with the class [yajnatva]. [Hence the meaning is] : ‘The sacrifice’ that are being defined in the seel. It has been said ‘for the sake of sacrifice etc.’ Now their general nature, [the Lord] describes :

Sri Ramanuja

4.23 Of a person whose attachment to all objects is gone because of his mind being established in the knowledge of the self, who is therefore liberated from accepting all worldly possessions and who is engaged in the performance of sacrifices etc., as described above - in the case of such a person his beginningless load of Karma, which is the cause of his bondgae, is completely dissolved, i.e., destroyed without leaving any residue.

So far the nature of Karma as having the form of knowledge has been described as emerging from constant contemplation on the nature of the self as different from Prakrti. And now Sri Krsna says that all actions together with their ancillaries, have the form of knowledge because of constant contemplation by the aspirant on the Supreme Person who is the Supreme Brahman, as being his soul.

Sri Shankaracharya

4.23 Muktasya, of the liberated person who has become relieved of such bondages as righteousness and unrighteousness, etc.; gatasangasya, who has got rid of attachment, who has become detached from everything; jnana-avasthita-cetasah, whose mind is fixed in Knowledge only; his karma, actions; acaratah, undertaken; yajnaya, for a sacrifice, to accomplish a sacrifice [A.G. takes yajna to mean Visnu. So, yajnaya will mean ‘for Visnu’. Sankaracarya also interprets this word similarly in 3.9.-Tr.]; praviliyate, gets destroyed; samagram, totally-saha (together) agrena (with its conseence, result). This is the meaning. For what reason, again, does an action that is underway get destroyed totally without producing its result? This is being answered: Because,

Swami Adidevananda

4.23 Of one whose attachments are gone, who is free, whose mind is established in knowledge, who works only for sacrifices, his Karma is entirely dissolved.

Swami Gambirananda

4.23 Of the liberated person who has got rid of attachment, whose mind is fixed in Knowledge, actions undertaken for a sacrifice get totally destroyed.

Swami Sivananda

4.23 To one who is devoid of attchment, who is liberated, whose mind is established in knowledge, who works for the sake of sacrifice (for the sake of God), the whole action is dissolved.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

4.23 गतसङ्गस्य one who is devoid of attachment? मुक्तस्य of the liberated? ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः whose mind is established in knowledge? यज्ञाय for sacrifice? आचरतः acting? कर्म action? समग्रम् whole? प्रविलीयते is dissolved.Commentary One who is free from attachment? who is liberated from the bonds of Karma? whose mind is centred and rooted in wisdom? who performs actions for the sake of sacrifice? in order to please the Lord – all his actions with their results melt away. His actions are reduced to nothing. They are? in fact? no actions at all.