Having abandoned attachment to the fruits of the action, ever content, depending on nothing, he does not do anything though engaged in activity.
In simple words
Krishna paints a picture of freedom: "Imagine someone who has let go of all attachment to results, who is always content, who depends on nothing and no one. That person is fully active in the world — and yet, in the deepest sense, they are doing nothing at all."
Word-by-word meanings
त्यक्त्वाhaving abandonedकर्मफलासङ्गम्attachment to the fruits of actionनित्यतृप्तःeven contentनिराश्रयःdepending on nothingकर्मणिin actionअभिप्रवृत्तःengagedअपिevenनnotएवverilyकिञ्चित्anythingकरोतिdoesसःhe
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
4.20 त्यक्त्वा having abandoned? कर्मफलासङ्गम् attachment to the fruits of action? नित्यतृप्तः even content? निराश्रयः depending on nothing? कर्मणि in action? अभिप्रवृत्तः engaged? अपि even? न not? एव verily? किञ्चित् anything? करोति does? सः he.Commentary The same idea of inaction in action is repeated here to produce a deep impression on the minds of the aspirants. He who works for the wellbeing of the world and he who performs actions without egoism and attachment for the fruits? to set an example to the masses? really does nothing at all though he is ever engaged in activity? as he possesses the knowledge of the Self which is beyond all activity and as he has realised his identity with It.As Brahman the Absolute is selfcontained? all the desires are gratified if one realises the Self. He is ever satisfied and does not depend on anything? just as a man who has the favour of the king does not depend on the minister or the government official for anything. (Cf.IV.41)
Swami Chinmayananda
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
Here we are not instructed to renounce the fruits of action, nor to disregard them, but rather to abandon our mental bondage and attachment to those fruits. When we become consumed with anxieties about desired outcomes, we cannot perform our duties with skill and excellence. By relinquishing this worry and attachment, we should dedicate ourselves to the welfare of society.
A true artist will never willingly sell his greatest masterpiece. The very painting to which he has devoted such tremendous labor and time becomes his true reward. Even if he must endure hunger, he will not sell that painting. The satisfaction and joy he experiences merely by beholding it far surpasses all the wealth of the world. If such a limited work of art can bring such profound joy to an ordinary person, what measure could possibly gauge the bliss of the wise one who, established in the nature of the Self and immersed in divine joy, works in this world of names and forms? In truth, the person who has realized the infinite Absolute as his own Self becomes entirely free from external dependencies.
Attachment to fruits, discontent, and reliance upon external objects—these afflict only the ignorant being. When the seeker of truth recognizes that the true nature of this being is infinite and complete, the sense of separate individuality dissolves, and the cessation of all suffering becomes inevitable. When water in a vessel is stirred, the reflection of the sun within it also trembles. But when the water is poured out, the reflection vanishes, and the sun in the sky cannot be disturbed in any way. Similarly, the Self-realized person, though engaged in action, performs no action whatsoever.
The body, mind, and intellect continue to function in the external world, but the all-pervading Self does not. Without this conscious Self, the body cannot act; yet the action cannot be attributed to the actionless Self. Therefore, the person established in the Self, though acting, cannot be called the doer. A train moves, yet it would be incorrect to say that steam is moving.
A student of Vedanta may harbor this doubt: when Self-realization occurs, all previously accumulated karma may be destroyed, but thereafter, if the wise one continues to act in the world, might he not create new karma in the form of sin and merit, necessitating further births to experience their fruits? This verse dispels such doubt entirely. It is clearly stated that the wise one, though performing action, performs no action whatsoever; how then can bondage arise? Every action produces a reaction. Even the physical actions of a saint must surely bear some fruit. This is common logic, which the Blessed Lord refutes.