Verse 3.18

नैव तस्य कृतेनार्थो नाकृतेनेह कश्चन ।

न चास्य सर्वभूतेषु कश्चिदर्थव्यपाश्रयः ॥

3.18

Transliteration

naiva tasya kṛtenārtho nākṛteneha kaścana |

na cāsya sarvabhūteṣu kaścidarthavyapāśrayaḥ ||

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

Translation

For him there is no interest whatever in what is done or what is not done; nor does he depend on any being for any object.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

not
at all
for him
by action done
any purpose
nor
by action not done
here
whatever

not
and
for him
among all beings
any
dependence for any end

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

Explanation

Krishna continues describing the person content in the self. Such a one gains nothing by acting and loses nothing by not acting. Nor does he depend on any other being for his own ends. He is complete. The verse shows that the realised person stands outside the logic of need and exchange that governs ordinary life. This sets up a surprising turn in the next verses: Krishna will urge Arjuna to act anyway, and will explain that even the free act, not from need but for the welfare of the world.