Verse 4.14

न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा ।

इति मां योऽभिजानाति कर्मभिर्न स बध्यते ॥

4.14

Transliteration

na māṃ karmāṇi limpanti na me karmaphale spṛhā |

iti māṃ yo'bhijānāti karmabhirna sa badhyate ||

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

Translation

Actions do not taint Me, nor have I a desire for the fruit of actions. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

not
me
actions
taint
nor
my
in the fruit of action
desire

thus
me
who
knows
by actions
not
he
is bound

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

Explanation

Krishna explains why he is a non-doer though he acts. Actions do not cling to him, and he has no craving for their results. The verb limpanti, smear or stain, pictures action as something that can stick to a person and leave a mark. Krishna is untouched because he acts without desire. The verse adds that whoever understands Krishna in this way is also not bound by action. Knowing how the divine acts freely becomes a model for the seeker's own way of acting.