गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः । यज्ञायाचरतः कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते ॥
gata-saṅgasya muktasya jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ | yajñāyācarataḥ karma samagraṃ pravilīyate ||
For the liberated one — attachment gone, mind settled in knowledge, acting for yajna — all karma completely dissolves.
Word by word (3)
- gata-saṅgasya muktasya jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ
- — for the one whose attachment has gone, who is liberated, whose mind is established in knowledge · Gata-saṅga = gone-attachment (gata = gone; saṅga = attachment, clinging — same root as V3.9's saṅga-tyāgāt). Mukta = liberated (from muc = to release). Jñānāvasthita-cetas = mind established/situated in knowledge (jñāna = knowledge; avasthita = established, situated; cetas = mind, consciousness). Three linked qualities — each one deepens the previous: attachment gone → liberation follows → mind naturally settles in jñāna.
- yajñāya ācarataḥ karma samagraṃ pravilīyate
- — for one acting for the sake of yajna — all action completely dissolves · Yajñāya = for the sake of yajna (dative: 'toward yajna'). Ācarataḥ = acting, conducting oneself (from ā+car). Karma = action. Samagraṃ = completely, totally, wholly (sam = complete + agra = foremost/full). Pravilīyate = completely dissolves, melts away (pra+vi+lī = to thoroughly melt/dissolve). The extraordinary claim: action done for yajna (offering, not self-benefit) completely dissolves — leaving no karmic residue whatsoever.
- samagraṃ pravilīyate — the complete dissolution
- — not partially — not mostly — but completely: the karma melts · Samagraṃ means totality — not 50%, not 90%, but the complete residue of karma. Pravilīyate uses the intensifying prefix pra+vi before lī (to dissolve) — suggesting thorough, complete, irreversible dissolution. This is the promise of V23: yajña-oriented action performed by the liberated (gata-saṅga, mukta, jñānāvasthita) produces zero karmic residue. Not reduced karma — zero.
For the one whose attachment has gone, who is liberated, whose mind is established in knowledge — acting for the sake of yajna, all karma completely dissolves.
A modern analogy
Salt dissolves in water — completely, leaving no residue. You cannot find the salt once it has dissolved. V23: samagraṃ pravilīyate — that is what happens to the karma of the liberated actor. Not reduced, not stored elsewhere. Gone.
Take with you
- Three conditions: gata-saṅga (no attachment), mukta (liberated), jñānāvasthita-cetas (mind in knowledge) — all three together.
- Yajñāya ācarataḥ: the orientation of action matters as much as the action itself. For yajna = for the offering.
- Samagraṃ pravilīyate — complete dissolution. This is not gradual reduction but total release.
- V23 closes the V21-23 cluster: three portraits of the same inner freedom from different angles.
V23 closes the V21-23 cluster by stating the ultimate result of the inner freedom described in V21-22. Gata-saṅgasya muktasya jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ — these three genitives describe a single person at three levels: practical (no attachment), existential (liberated), cognitive (mind in knowledge). Shankaracharya: jñānāvasthita-cetas is the crucial condition — the mind that has settled into Brahman-knowledge acts from a completely different center. Its actions are yajna (offering) rather than karma (accumulation). The mathematical result: samagraṃ pravilīyate — complete dissolution. This is the technical statement that the jñāna-karma-yogi does not accumulate karma, period. Not that they accumulate less — they accumulate nothing. V23 thus establishes the philosophical basis for karma-yoga as a complete liberation path, not merely a method of reducing karma gradually.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
For the one of liberated mind, free from attachment, whose mind is established in knowledge, who acts for sacrifice — all karma is completely dissolved. [1]
For one who is free from attachment, who is liberated, whose mind is established in knowledge — performing action for the sake of yajna, all karma dissolves completely. [4]
For one who has no attachment, who is free, whose thoughts are fixed in knowledge — performing works as sacrifice, all his works are dissolved. [6]
For one who is quit of bonds, who is free, Whose mind is settled in knowledge — for one who acts for sacrifice — all karma dissolves. [7]
For one who has no attachment, who is free, whose mind is established in knowledge — performing actions for sacrifice, all karma is completely dissolved. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.
Action done as an offering (yajna) does not bind. All other action creates bondage. Do your work as offering.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
Those who know Me as Adhibhūta, Adhidaiva, and Adhiyajña — they know Me even at death, with unified minds.
Minds absorbed in pleasure and power cannot settle into the resolute intelligence — they are carried away.