Verse 18.17
यस्य नाहङ्कृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते ।
हत्वाऽपि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते ॥
Transliteration
yasya nāhaṅkṛto bhāvo buddhiryasya na lipyate |
hatvā'pi sa imā~llokānna hanti na nibadhyate ||
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3
Translation
He who is free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted (by good or evil), though he slays these people, he slayeth not, nor is he bound (by the action).
From the owner's sheet · +1 more
One who has no sense of being the doer, whose understanding is not tainted, does not kill even if he kills these people, nor is he bound.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08 · +1 more
Word by word
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08
Explanation
This is one of the most debated verses of the Gita. One who has no ego-sense of being the doer, and whose understanding is not tainted, does not truly kill even if he kills these people, and is not bound by the act. Spoken on a battlefield, the verse must be read with care. It does not license violence; it describes a person acting from a state free of ego and desire within a duty already given. Readers stress that such freedom is rare and that the claim applies only to it.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08