Shankaracharya's commentary, trans. Alladi Mahadeva Sastry (1897)
[1]Verily, no one can remain for even a moment without performing action; for everyone is helplessly driven to action by the gunas born of Prakriti.
BG 3.5
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् । कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥
na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt | kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ ||
"No one can be truly inactive even for a moment — the gunas of Nature drive all beings to act."
All public-domain translations
5 translations · all pre-1928 or released to public domain · sources
Swami Swarupananda, Srimad Bhagavad Gita (1909)
[4]Verily, none can ever remain for even a moment without performing action; for everyone is helplessly driven to action by the qualities born of Prakriti.
William Quan Judge, The Bhagavad Gita (1890)
[6]Verily, no one can remain for a single moment really actionless, for the qualities born of nature compel all beings to act.
Sir Edwin Arnold, The Song Celestial (1885)
[7]None may stand still a moment, none can pause From working, not the weakest: Nature's Law Compels all into work.
K.T. Telang, Sacred Books of the East Vol. 8 (1882)
[9]For no one ever remains even for an instant without doing some act; for all are compelled helplessly to act by the qualities born of nature.