Verse 3.17

यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः ।

आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥

3.17

Transliteration

yastvātmaratireva syādātmatṛptaśca mānavaḥ |

ātmanyeva ca santuṣṭastasya kāryaṃ na vidyate ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

But for that man who rejoices only in the Self, who is satisfied with the Self and who is content in the Self alone, verily there is nothing to do.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

who
but
delighting in the Self
only
would be
content in the Self
and
a person

in the Self
alone
and
satisfied
for him
duty
not
exists

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

Krishna now makes an exception. One who rejoices in the self (ātman), finds fulfilment there and is wholly content within has no further duty to perform. Such a person has nothing left to gain from action. The verse describes the state of one who has realised the self, for whom the wheel of exchange no longer imposes obligation. Some traditions take this as support for renunciation by the realised; others stress that, as the following verses show, even such a person continues to act for the good of others.