न च मां तानि कर्माणि निबध्नन्ति धनञ्जय | उदासीनवदासीनमसक्तं तेषु कर्मसु ||९-९||
na ca māṃ tāni karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya .
udāsīnavadāsīnamasaktaṃ teṣu karmasu ||9-9||
These acts do not bind Me, O Arjuna, sitting like one indifferent, unattached to those acts.
In simple words
Krishna says something remarkable: "And none of this binds Me, Arjuna. I sit apart from it all, untouched and unattached — like a person watching a play they themselves wrote."
Word-by-word meanings
नnotचandमाम्Meतानिtheseकर्माणिactsनिबध्नन्तिbindधनञ्जयO Dhananjayaउदासीनवत्like one indifferentआसीनम्sittingअसक्तम्unattachedतेषुin thoseकर्मसुacts
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
9.9 न not? च and? माम् Me? तानि these? कर्माणि acts? निबध्नन्ति bind? धनञ्जय O Dhananjaya? उदासीनवत् like one indifferent? आसीनम् sitting? असक्तम् unattached? तेषु in those? कर्मसु acts.Commentary These acts Creation and dissolution of the universe. I am the only cause of dissolution of the universe. I am the only cause of Nature and its activities and yet? being indifferent to everythin? I do nothing. Nor do I cause anything to be done.I remain as one neutral or indifferent or unconcerned. I have no attachment for the fruits of those actions. Further I have not go the egoistic feeling of agency I do this. I know that the Self is actionless. Therefore the actions involved in creation and dissolution do not bind Me.As in the case of Isvara so in the case of others also the absence of the egoistic feeling of agency and the absense of attachment to the fruits of action is the cause of freedom (from Dharma and Adharma? virtue and evil) The ignorant man who works with egoism and who expects rewards for his action is bound by his own actions like the silkworm in the cocoon.Just as the neutral referee or umpire in a cricket or football match is not affected by the victory or defeat of the parties? so also the Lord is not affected by the creation and destruction of this world as He remains unconcerned or indifferent and as He is a silent and changeless witness. (Cf.IV.14)
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.
# BG 9.9 — The Eternal Soul Remains Untouched
The finite individual, bound by egoistic action, inscribes the impressions of self-centered deeds upon the tablet of the mind, and these bear fruit in time, bringing suffering. All actions rooted in ego—forever driven by selfish desire—leave their ugly footprints upon the shore of the mind. Yet selfless and egoless action leaves no trace, just as the bird flying through the sky leaves no footprints behind.
Consider the ungrateful son who strikes his own father, and compare him to the innocent child at play, striking his father with tiny feet. Though the act of striking is the same in both, we need no philosopher's subtle vision to perceive the difference between them. Wherever and whenever action is performed with ego and selfishness as the motive, it surely gives birth to sorrowful desires.
The Supreme Being feels neither attachment nor aversion in bestowing consciousness upon Nature and in the endless recreation of all beings. The eternal Purusha is never affected merely by the continuation of this cosmic cycle. Those actions do not bind Me, for they are neither rooted in ego nor motivated by self-interest.
Consider the motion picture displayed upon the white screen of a cinema hall. However tragic, however filled with bloodshed and tears, however stormy and rain-filled the scenes—when the film ends, that white screen remains neither bloodstained nor wet with tears, nor damaged by tempests. Yet we know that without that unchanging, immobile screen, the story could not have been displayed through shadow and light. Similarly, the eternal, pure, infinite Atman is that enduring stage upon which the sorrowful drama of life is continuously enacted by countless beings in the language of multiplicity, each playing their predetermined roles, driven by their own accumulated desires.
The steam of an engine is not punished for a terrible accident caused by derailment, nor is it praised for reaching its destination safely and on time. It is true that without that steam, neither the accident nor the arrival could have occurred—for without it, the engine is merely inert, heavy iron. The power to perform constructive or destructive work comes to the engine from the steam alone. In all these events, that steam has neither attachment nor aversion toward running the engine; therefore, responsibility for these events is not placed upon it, and it is not bound.
The motivating intention behind action alone determines the fruit of that action.
The Atman is the source of all power. It gives strength to the mind. Every mind is merely an accumulation of desires. A mind refined by noble desires sings songs of joy and harmony, while base desires compel the mind to groan in suffering. The needle of a gramophone is not responsible for the music that plays from the record. As the record, so the music. Similarly, the Atman is eternal, unconcerned with what kind of world has come into being. It has no anxiety about the world's transformations. Whatever occurs in the world—whether murder or self-sacrifice—the sunlight illuminates it. The sun has no connection with the murderer's crime, nor with the martyr's glory. The pure conscious Atman grants the capacity to express desire-nature, whether those desires lead to hellish torment or to glory and fame. The Atman, standing detached and indifferent to those actions, is not bound by them.
What then is that wondrous relationship between the infinite and the finite? It is said: the finite Nature acts because of the infinite Atman, and yet the Atman remains indifferent—how is this so?