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Study a Verse
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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 3.4
न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्य पुरुषोऽश्नुते ।
न च सन्न्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति ॥ ४ ॥
na karmaṇām anārambhān
naiṣkarmyaṁ puruṣo ’śnute
na ca sannyasanād eva
siddhiṁ samadhigacchati
Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Simply avoiding work does not free one from its reactions, and renunciation alone does not bring perfection.
Prabhupāda explains that prescribed duties purify the heart. Without this purification, entering renounced life cannot succeed.
Begin serving the Lord. He accepts even small progress in His service, which helps one overcome great difficulties.
Premature Renunciation carries no benefit — Premature Renunciation of prescribed duties will neither lead to freedom from reaction (Purification of heart) nor Perfection (Success or Liberation) – Thus no benefit achieved
Texts 3.3 & 3.4
Premature renunciation performed before sufficient purification at the karma stage, will neither bring purification nor liberation.
Work combined with knowledge and detachment
Offer the fruit of the work for the satisfaction of Krishna
Niskama-karma-yoga allows the soul (active by nature) to be purified through detached activities
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: karma, sva-dharma.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 3.4 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to duty & action?
Do one task today purely because it is right.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.